


Gold Like The Moon

by OreoPromises



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: College AU, Contains Bullying, Determined Jungkook, Fae & Fairies, I'm Sorry, K-Pop - Freeform, Smoking, Suga is kind of an asshat..., Suga's not-so-secret tattoo?, Supernatural Creatures AU, Vampires, Werewolf Taehyung, no regrets, werewolf dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2018-10-14 01:39:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10526211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OreoPromises/pseuds/OreoPromises
Summary: Trying to integrate a lonely werewolf into their group is a lot harder than they first expected it to be, but Jungkook can be quite persuasive. Taehyung has always been avoided at school from rumours going around. He has no friends and hates it. Hates not having anyone there to have his back or no one he can protect. Being the only werewolf at an all human school might have something to do with it.Yoongi, a prestigious pianist, has his world turned upside down in the matter of hours. In these hours, he’s told terrible news in which he responds tragically too. He becomes uncaring and rebellious, concerning Jimin, who notices Yoongi’s sudden addiction to smoking and how he’d just sit there playing with a lighter rather than playing the piano like he’d used to.





	1. Broken

**Author's Note:**

> M

“Here Wolfie!” The huddle of boys mock the shorter one, howling at the red-haired boy leaving his first lesson of the day, English. Taehyung endures it, pulling his books out of the open locker in front of him for his next class. _Breathe._ He repeats the word over and over. It hardly helps, especially when one of the bigger boys slams the locker shut. “Come on, Wolf. Howl for us!” He laughs with his bully friends, a stupid grin plastered onto his face that Taehyung looks up at, a frightened look in his eyes, but he doesn't say anything. Students walking by the scene stare for a second but just keep on walking, not attempting to help the helpless werewolf against the much stronger humans. Everyone's misconception of werewolves being big, strong and dangerous monsters is, as I said, a misconception. They're not stronger than regular humans on normal days like today. The only time they are actually stronger is on the night of a full moon (one of the only things humans know about werewolves that's actually correct). However, some werewolves do gain such a large amount of self-control that they can, under the right circumstances, shift into their wolf form on days other than a full moon. The most Taehyung can do on non-full moon days is that his eyes can change to a golden colour. This only happens when he feels a large amount of a certain emotion. Whether he feels scared, sad, angry or anything else. Taehyung continues looking at the intimidating bullies, too scared to look at them but also too wary to turn away. Even though the werewolf experiences this everyday, he's still not used to it. Then again, no one should have to get used to this. Seeing that they weren't getting a satisfying reaction, the group moves on to, presumably, find their next victim. Before walking away, the supposed leader of the group lands a punch into Taehyung’s stomach, causing him to double over coughing. He falls onto his knees, keeping the tears back that are threatening to fall. Students just keep walking on by without a care in the world. _Why…_

 

After regaining what little composure he had, Taehyung begins the second lesson of the day. Mathematics, one of the only lessons he enjoys here. He greets the teacher as he always does but Mr Lim only shakes his head at him. Confused, the werewolf takes his usual seat and gets his pen and notepad out, ready to take notes. He can feel eyes on him. He doesn't know where from but he knows they're on him. He looks around the class only to find them instantly. A set of dark brown eyes belonging to a mint-haired student. The eyes are full of anger. Taehyung notices an orange-haired student beside the intimidating one, seemingly trying to get the attention of the older boy. Not wanting a staring competition to commence, Taehyung turns back to the teacher as he begins to speak.

“Yoongi hyung!” A concerned Jimin whisper yells, prodding the elder’s shoulder carefully. “Talk to me…” he begs, keeping up his efforts to gain attention from Yoongi. He's noticed how the mint-head has been staring daggers at the werewolf sitting near the front, hoping that his hyung doesn't do anything to hurt him since the poor guy has enough to deal with already. Also, since the youngest member of their friendship group has apparently taken an interest in the young wolf, attempting to get them to let him sit with them. Speaking of the younger, he's currently sitting three seats away from the wolf, everyday moving one seat closer to him. How subtle. They were all for the werewolf being part of the group, apart from Min Yoongi. It was about two weeks ago when something changed. Yoongi is, or at least was, a legendary pianist of this school. All the music teachers praised him and he's already been offered places in multiple prestigious music academies around the world. He would've been at one of those academies right now if he didn't turn it down after a short conversation on the phone. Jimin, and the rest of their friends, still have no idea what that mysterious call was about. All they know is that Yoongi hasn't touched a piano since it. Yoongi was an excellent student with great grades and musical abilities. Now, he's rebellious. Skipping most of his lessons. Smoking round the back of the science building. He even got a tattoo (which Jimin actually loves but that isn't the point). With a heavy sigh, the orange-head decides to give up for now, not wanting to miss any notes for someone that he can see clearly but can't see him.

“Hey Mr Lim? Can I get help with this?” Jungkook asks the tired teacher in a loud voice. He really does need help, seeing as maths isn't his best subject, but he has an ulterior motive: get to know Kim Taehyung. The raven-haired boy sneaks glances at the werewolf sitting only three seats away, desperately wanting to talk to him. The crimson-haired student is oblivious to this, keeping his eyes fixated on the board in front of him. Frustrated, Jungkook decides to take the next step. “Sir, can I go sit with Taehyung? I think we can help each other.” He asks the teacher with a large, bunny smile. The teacher looks between the two and sighs, nodding his head. Jungkook is at Taehyung’s desk in a flash, carrying a chair and all his things in two arms. Surprised, Taehyung watches the younger as he makes himself at home at his desk.

“Wh-”

“I'm Jeon Jungkook! Let's work together.” Jungkook interrupts the elder, opening his notebook to today's notes. Still in shock, Taehyung stares at the boy’s adorable, puffy face with wide eyes. “What's up?” He asks with a grin, happy that he finally gets to talk with the only werewolf at this damned school.

“N-nothing…” Taehyung stutters, concealing his blush by lowering his head as he pretends to read over his notes. Jungkook can't help but giggle at the not-so-subtle action.

“Why don't you sit with us at lunch?” The offer came as a surprise to the werewolf, obviously. Being bullied everyday can make anyone a little untrusting and paranoid. Before he can answer, the bell rings to signify lunch. _That went by fast_. Taehyung thinks, gasping when his wrist is being grabbed by a firm hand. He's pulled out of the room and into the cafeteria before he can fully register what's happening.

“Let's go to lunch, hyung.” Jimin says, lightly pulling on Yoongi’s jacket for him to come with him.

“You go ahead. I'll meet you there.” He replies dismissively, leaving the room to go where he always does at this time. The science building.

“Why do you do this?” Jimin mutters into the air, shoving his hands into his pockets as he goes to find the rest of his friends. Usually, he'd see the werewolf boy being pushed about on the way to the cafeteria. Not today. It's not that Jimin likes standing by as the younger gets bullied but, if he was to help, there's nothing much he can do. He enters the large food hall and instantly looks over to the table he and his friends always sit at. This time there’s one more person there.

 

“Holy shit. He actually did it.” Jimin chuckles softly as he makes his way over, hoping that Yoongi won’t be too annoyed at the youngest for doing this. “Who’s this, Jungkookie?” He pretends to not know of the crimson-haired boy - which he obviously does since Taehyung is the only werewolf at the school, meaning almost everyone knows who he is. The maknae looks up at Jimin and has a large grin on his face. This is definitely the happiest Jimin has seen Jungkook in a while. Taehyung, on the other hand, looks uncomfortable and even a little frightened.

“This is Taehyung, Jimin hyung!” Jungkook even sounds happier, which Jimin didn’t think was possible. Hoseok and Namjoon come up to the table after Jimin sits down, eyeing up the new recruit. Immediately they know what’s happened and can’t help but laugh, confusing an already confused Taehyung even more. They all start talking about the lessons they’ve just had, Jungkook continuing to hate on maths like every other day. Taehyung stays silent, trying to figure out the game they must be playing. He looks around and spots the group of boys that pushed him about earlier, a couple of them spotting him. He quickly looks away and prays that they don’t come over here. Even if Jungkook and his group of friends are playing a game with him, he still yearns for the interaction. Wolves are social creatures; always desiring to be in a pack. At this moment, two large hands grab onto Taehyung’s shoulders. The wolf instantly stands up and turns to face the culprit, breathing heavily. His eyes a bright gold.

“Gold…” Seokjin whispers, holding his hands up in a surrender-like manner to show Taehyung that he doesn’t want to hurt him. With wavering pupils, the werewolf turns back to the group and looks at them all with his glowing eyes.

“Hey, Taehyung,” Jungkook begins, looking over to the group of bullies in the corner laughing hysterically. “We’re not going to hurt you.” He stands up, reaching out to touch Taehyung’s shoulder but the older boy only flinches away. He was already out of his comfort zone and frightened out of his mind, Seokjin’s innocent actions only pushed him over the edge. It especially doesn’t help that it’s a full moon tonight and his emotions are all over the place, in overdrive.

“Oh look at that! Wolfie’s gonna pee himself!” the leader of the herd of idiots shouts, causing pretty much everyone in the cafeteria to look at Taehyung and his bright orbs. Some people start laughing while others just go back to the higher priority: food. Just as Jungkook is about to defend the red-head, a loud, deep voice fills the hall. One he can’t believe is coming from the previously timid boy.

“Shut up! I’ve taken your shit for months!” The cafeteria falls silent. A deafening silence that no one dares disrupt. Taehyung is now staring the leader in the eyes. A deathly glare that the much larger boy doesn’t dare break. With clenched fists, the werewolf steps away from the table he used to be sitting at. _Breathe._ The word repeats and repeats and repeats. He knows that he’ll probably regret this by tomorrow but the temporary relief is enough for now. He’s just sick of playing the victim, so for once he wants to break character and stand up for himself. Then one lonely howl fills the room. A howl that certainly didn’t come from the only werewolf there - a creature that actually howls. The howl came from, you guessed it, the instigator of the group. Taehyung’s eyes only glow brighter, a low growl rumbling out of his throat.

“Hey, Jinsoo, maybe we should stop now.” One of his followers suggests quietly, averting his gaze from the angered werewolf. The rest of the group starts whispering worriedly. The so-called Jinsoo hushes his minions, stepping away from them to move closer to Taehyung.

“What’s this guy gonna do? He’s a weakling.” Jinsoo claims, laughing menacingly as the werewolf clenches his fists. Jungkook places a hand onto Taehyung’s shoulder, surprised when the elder turns to face him, his face dark yet his eyes phosphorescent.

“Stay away from me or you’ll be sorry.” Taehyung doesn’t mean his words, not really. He craves socialisation with people, even if they are naturally stubborn humans. With that, he runs out of the hall and straight to the sports shed that’s located at the far end of the school’s designated field. There, he cries and cries. Eventually falling to sleep despite it only being half 12 in the afternoon. That’s the third time he’s cried himself to sleep out of the 17 years he’s been in this god forsaken world. The first two times? Back when he was being experimented on. Once when he was only five years old and forced to endure pain that mentally tortured and broke him (before he even experienced his first ‘turn’). The second was when he shifted into his wolf form the first time at the painful age of eight. The age a werewolf first turns on a full moon is different for each person but it's said to be (thanks to the discoveries made by government experiments) between the ages of six and ten. Although there were a few outliers here and there of people changing at ages five and even up to thirteen, for the less mentally developed people.

The first change is always the worst. Just imagine your entire body changing shape, each of your bones breaking and reforming and breaking again only to be reformed again. No one could've prepared Taehyung for the excruciating pain he would feel that night and, once he turned back into human form, he cried rivers until he could sleep.

 

At this time, Yoongi puts out his cigarette after taking the last puff of it, stomping out its dying embers with his foot. He flicks his lighter a couple of times as he walks, thinking back to Jimin who was genuinely concerned about him. _*I wish I could tell you but I know you'd only worry more…*_ he thinks to himself with a large, exasperated sigh. He pockets his fire-maker and enters the cafeteria, not caring if the suffocating smell of smoke is still clinging to his body. The laughter inside the hall sparks his interest, especially when a certain maknae looks _incredibly_ pissed off. Jungkook is usually the quiet one but when he starts something he doesn't know how, or when, to quit. “What's up with Jungkook?” The sudden voice scares the shit out of Jimin, who's been trying to get him to open up for a while now.

“He tried to get Taehyung into the group but then some guys mocked him and he freaked out and, I mean, _freaked_ out, he shouted and stormed out.” Jimin rambles, only stopping to breathe once he got it all out. _*Cute… Wait what? You don't roll that way Min Yoongi.*_ He shakes his head at the thoughts appearing in his mind, refusing to believe them. He's been friends with Jimin for around three years now after being introduced by Jin. They never kept secrets, them and the rest of the group. That's how close they are or, at least, were.

“Who's Taehyung?” Yoongi is sure he's heard the name before but he can't pinpoint where exactly. All he knows is that he feels angry when he hears the name.

“Seriously?” Jimin chuckles and pats his elder’s back all while shaking his head. “There's only one werewolf in this school and you can't remember his name?” That's when it clicked.

“Well I'm glad someone drove him off. He has no place here.” The harsh words hit Jimin like a pile of bricks, shocked to hear his hyung talk that way. The youngest apparently hears this as well, since he turns to face Yoongi directly. Their eyes meet but Jungkook doesn't waver like he'd usually do.

“Don't talk like that about Taehyung.” He warns quietly, risking his skin by speaking in such a manner to the Min Yoongi. The same Min Yoongi that everyone used to admire and some girls would even joke about suing him because he ruined their life with his revolutionary piano playing that no one could ever fault. Now, however, people mostly avoid him. He's become rebellious and downright scary. Granted, it has earned him the title of ‘badass’ but he's no longer gaining respect out of awe. It's out of fear. That is unless you're part of this six-member friendship group who knew Yoongi before he changed. The rest of lunch was spent in, mainly, silence, the only noises coming from an excited Hoseok who found out that his new hat has arrived and is just waiting to be worn. Jungkook still doesn't stop worrying about Taehyung, especially when the elder doesn't show up to their next lessons.

 

“Ya Jimin!” The informal whisper-shout given by the youngest greatly annoys the orange-headed boy but he doesn't speak up about it because he knows that Jungkook will only retaliate more. He turns his head to look at the raven and raises his eyebrows to signal him to talk. “Where d’you think Taehyung went?” The concern in his voice is genuine and can't help but make Jimin feel sorry for the younger and his failed attempt at bringing him into the group.

“I'm not sure… I heard- Nevermind.” Jimin interrupted himself, knowing that, if he tells Jungkook what he'd heard, he wouldn't stop until he found the lost werewolf. Jungkook isn't stupid and could easily tell that his hyung is concealing information.

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Jimin, you pabo, just freaking tell me!” His voice increases in volume, earning him a hush from their Chemistry teacher. With a heavy sigh, Jimin makes the decision to tell the younger but promises to himself that he won’t let him go looking for the wolf.

“Some kids said that they saw him run into the sports shed out on the field and apparently he hasn't come out.” Jungkook gasps and looks around the class frantically.

“He can't stay there! He shouldn't have to stay there…” The younger is almost at tears now, feeling incredibly sorry for putting Taehyung in that situation. “I have to go get him.” Jungkook stands up, only to be pulled back down to his seat by Yoongi, who'd been silently listening to their conversation.

“Are you a fucking idiot?” He hisses quietly, mainly so the teacher didn't kick him out for use of foul language. Not like he'd care much. Yoongi isn't sure if Jungkook is being ignorant or if he honestly doesn't know… “Do you really think you should be looking for him, especially today?” He tests the younger’s knowledge and sighs when the raven looks at him cluelessly. “Jungkook. Tonight is a full moon.” The realisation suddenly appears on Jungkook’s face, using a hand to cover his agape mouth as he looks like he's going to break down crying.

“What did I do?” Yoongi shrugs his shoulders, reaching a hand into his jacket pocket to play with the lighter subtly, not taking it out in case the teacher confiscates it. Then again, he’ll always have that secret stash of them that he won't tell anyone about. The secret stash of lighters that Jimin is making his mission to find and destroy. Well, maybe not destroy but he definitely wants to dispose of them. “I still have to find him, Hyung.” The determination in his voice is nothing to laugh about. He's deadly serious and no one can stop him now. “I did this, I have to fix it.”


	2. Scarred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding out where Taehyung had been staying for almost the entire school day, Jungkook is determined to fix what he did (even if it was completely unintentional) despite Yoongi's warning about it being a night of the Full Moon. Luckily, he was able to drag along two of his hyungs with him for backup in case the moon had already took an effect on the werewolf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took some time to update >.< College is being overly annoying recently and I've only now got the time to write this.  
> Thank you for reading~~  
> I also apologise for the lack of YoonMin in this chapter but expect some in the next one ^.^

Tired. Hated. Unwanted. Hopeless. Unloved. Hated. Disgusting. Disgraceful. Hated. Hated.

Taehyung lies down on the stone cold floor of the sports shed, his breathing ragged from the warm tears staining his tanned cheeks. The negative words keep replaying in his head. Over and over and over. He feels nothing but hatred for who he is. For what he is. He never asked to be a beast; never asked to be experimented on for twelve years. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.” His own words make him sit up sharply, clenching his fists to the point where his fingernails pierce into his palms and his knuckles turn white. He isn't sure exactly how long he's been sitting in the secluded shed, but he honestly doesn’t care right now, his thinking being taken up by the words exchanged during lunch. He never meant for the words to escape his mind but, when they did, it made him feel better, even if it was temporary. Now he just feels pathetic that he had to involve that group of friends that, seemingly, tried to help him. Whether this ‘Jungkook’ was attempting to be his friend or if it was all a big joke, Taehyung assumes he'll never know. But a small part of him wishes he could meet them again, just to be sure. “Why would they care?” The statement rolls off his tongue like it’s a daily occurrence. A frequent reminder that he'll always be alone. He's never actually met another werewolf. Well… not one that’s treated him like an equal. There was one that he believed he could trust. That was until the werewolf showed his true colours and hurt Taehyung. But he's all but forgotten that encounter, mainly due to his brain suppressing the trauma caused by the physical and emotional pain he was put through.

“Taehyung!” He's jolted out of his thoughts by the distant yell, his pupils dilating. Taehyung doesn't answer back. He wants to, he really does. However, the full moon prevents him. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting in the shed but now he does as the moon compels him to change. Taehyung’s entire body shakes, the overwhelming pain making itself clear. The voice shouts again and again, sounding closer each time. Eventually, more voices pitch in and Taehyung recognises them as some of the group of friends that sat with him at lunch; the only people in a long time to actually treat Taehyung as another person. His bones crack one by one, only able to cry to himself as he hopes that they don't come close. He would be screaming right now, chained up inside the abandoned warehouse he's made the place he goes during full moons. Ever since he was freed from the lab, he's never spent a full moon out of the warehouse, too scared to even think about what he could do when turned. “Taehyung! You in there?”  _ Jungkook _ . The maknae’s voice is clearly laced with worry but Taehyung can't answer back. Can't warn the group of the danger they're currently in.

“Stay away…” The whisper falls onto deaf ears.

 

Jungkook turns to an out of breath Jimin and Hoseok, glad that they came with him to find the werewolf, even if it was a result from his agonising aegyo that they couldn't ignore. Jungkook, himself, can't stand doing aegyo in front of his hyungs but this called for drastic measures. “Taehyung~” He shouts for the nth time, slowing to a jog as they grow closer to the shed. The three exchange equally concerned glances as strange noises appear to be emanating from the small building. Hoseok’s head turns up to the darkening sky, pointing to the full moon shining brightly. Thanks to the Winter days, the sun sets sooner than in summer and these three friends had to stay back because of the teacher's ‘recommendation’ that they do extra work. Jungkook especially didn’t appreciate this as it just meant he had to wait longer to find Taehyung. On a positive note, it did give him the time he needed to convince Hoseok and Jimin to join him. Although it honestly didn’t take long.

“You hear that right?” Jimin whispers carefully, subconsciously hiding behind Hoseok- which might not have been the best idea considering how the elder is literally afraid of everything. I don't even need to bring up the snake incident. 

The shed grows quiet, shadows surround them and they can't help but feel uneasy. The only sound being distant crickets and their heavy breathing. “Maybe we should just leave.” Jungkook glares at his two hyungs, scoffing when he sees that they're violently shaking out of fear.

“Stop being scaredy cats.” A sigh and roll of his eyes later, the fearless Maknae nears the shed door. Surprisingly, he's not afraid of possibly finding a four-legged creature in place of Taehyung but he's more afraid of finding a human Taehyung that’s crying. Jungkook can't stand to see people cry, finding it a useless thing to do, but he understands that, sometimes, you just have to let it all out. That's the main reason he wants to incorporate the werewolf into the group, so he doesn't have to cry anymore. Or at least not cry alone anymore. With one swift motion, Jungkook pulls open the rotting wooden door.

 

_ Thud. _

 

His back hits the ground before he even realises what's happening. Hoseok releases a high-pitched scream as he holds onto a frozen Jimin for dear life. With his muscles screaming at him, Jungkook opens his eyes to see the reason why he's now lying on the cold ground, the weight on his front becoming too much to handle. A pair of glowing, golden eyes stare back at him and he instantly recognises them. The wolf just lies there, resting his two front paws on Jungkook’s chest as his tail sways side-to-side carelessly. “Taehyung?” His voice remains quiet, trying to assess whether he's in danger or not. In response, the wolf lifts itself off Jungkook and proceeds to take a seat next to him on the freshly cut grass. Warily, Jungkook sits up and turns his head to look at the large wolf, getting a better look at him now. It's fur is a red colour, not the bright red Taehyung has for hair but a light orangey-red, similar to that of a red wolf. It's head snaps to look at the -still petrified- pair of humans standing a couple of feet away from them. Jungkook gestures for them to come closer but they remain planted to the ground, vigorously shaking their heads in unison. “He's not going to hurt us. Right, Taehyung?” The youngest doesn't sound so sure in his own words but, when the wolf lies on it's side and exposes its fluffy belly to them, he can't help but smile. Jimin and Hoseok also take this submissive behaviour as reassuring and move closer to the four-legged mammal. As Jungkook reaches over to stroke the wolf’s tummy, it flattens its ears back. Not noticing the warning, the Maknae glides his hand down the side of the wolf. At first the wolf tenses, a low growl emitting from him, but as Jungkook continues to stroke his light fur, he relaxes slightly.

“I don't get why people hate them.” Jimin sighs, clearly referring to werewolves in general as he kneels down to touch the warm fur attached to Taehyung’s wolf form. “They’re beautiful.” Jungkook and Hoseok hum in agreement and the wolf’s tail wags happily, in a similar way to an excited puppy.

“Hey, what's that?” Hoseok points to a dark mark on the wolf’s front right paw (what would usually be human Taehyung’s right wrist). Jungkook squints his eyes to try and make it out but only the moonlight won't be enough. Sensing the struggle with the lack of light, Jimin takes out his mobile and turns on the torch, lighting up the immediate area around them.

“V?” Jungkook whispers, trying to understand what the letter means to be harshly etched into Taehyung’s skin like that. The wolf instantly sits up and looks around frantically, seemingly trying to find something. “What does ‘V’ mean?” Jungkook’s voice is louder this time and wolf Taehyung begins to shake, appearing to be a reaction to the mysterious letter inked onto him.

“Maybe you should stop saying that, dumbass.” Jimin casually suggests, gently giving the maknae a slap on the back of his head. Hoseok chuckles at the two but keeps his eyes on the paranoid wolf, wondering how people could ever even consider experimenting on such magnificent creatures.  _ *Was he experimented on too?* _ The question rises in all of their minds but none of them dare speak it, deciding that it’s best to not ask the werewolf when he’s unable to speak (being a wolf and all). Considering that Taehyung is the only werewolf attending their school, no one knows anything about him. The most people know is that he’s a werewolf, his name is Taehyung and he started coming to their college around four months ago for an unknown reason.

“I ain’t no dumbass, dumbass.” Jungkook rebuttals with a scoff, returning the slap (or punch) to his elder’s arm. The wolf appears to have settled a little bit since the letter has stopped being thrown around, raising more questions in the trio’s minds.

“So…” Jimin begins, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. “What should we do? We can’t exactly stay here all night.” He makes a good point. The two dongsaengs turn to Hoseok, seeking his suggestion even though he rarely acts like the hyung.

“Call your parents and tell them that you’re staying at my house.” The words came out more as an order which they both obey instantly, taking a couple of steps away from them to call their respective parents. Luckily for them, Hoseok moved away from his parents as soon as he started college, wanting to be free of their control. He still answers their calls as they’re, unfortunately, still his parents; the people that brought him into this unforgiving world. Hoseok sits with the wide-eyed wolf in a peaceful silence, mesmerised by the golden orbs that shine brighter than the sun on a hot Summer's day. With the thoughts of his parents, he doesn’t even register the words before they escape his naturally pouted mouth. “Do you have parents?” His voice stays quiet and he reaches up to smooth down the red fur on top of the wolf’s tilted head. The older boy is sure he sees a change in Taehyung’s shimmering eyes but he can’t put a finger on what it is. Jungkook and Jimin return once the deeds are done, both of them smiling brightly but neither of them aware of what had just been said.

“How are we going to get him to your house?” Jungkook rubs his chin in thought, looking the wolf up and down.

“Well, most people will be staying in their houses anyway, right? Since it’s a full moon and all.” Jimin states, shrugging his shoulders like it’ll be no big deal and easy to pull off. Hoseok nods in agreement and stands up, brushing any grass off his knees. “You have to follow us, Taehyung.” The orange-haired boy speaks clearly, gesturing for the wolf to come with them. As the three start walking across the field, the wolf yips and runs to catch up with them, not feeling in the mood to walk.

 

The walk lasts only twenty minutes but the three humans are exhausted. You wouldn’t think they’d be tired after the short journey but Taehyung kept them alert. The wolf kept on running ahead and stopping, meaning they had to keep sprinting after him to catch up. This happened at least twelve times within the twenty minutes but, now they’re outside the small house, wolf Taehyung appears to be more energetic than ever. They all enter the dark building and Hoseok clicks on the bright lights, visibly startling Taehyung which causes them to chuckle lightly. In protest, the wolf takes off and runs laps around the house, becoming accustomed to its layout before settling itself on a couch in the living room. “Hey!” The owner of the house stands in the doorway and crosses his arms. “Off the couch.” He hates talking to Taehyung like a dog but he isn’t sure how else to address the wolf. The wolf stretches his limbs and rests his head down, closing his eyes. “Ah… What to do…” Hoseok turns to his dongsaengs and sighs when he sees that they’re cooing over the wolf’s cuteness.

“Look at him hyung~” Jimin points to Taehyung and clasps his hands together pleasantly across his chest like how a proud mother would do. “You can’t kick him off. It’s only for tonight.”

“Yea, let him sleep. Unless you want him waking you up every five minutes.” Jungkook crosses his arms proudly and now wonders where they’re all going to sleep, now the wolf is taking up the entire couch.

“Fine… Jungkook, you can sleep down here and keep an eye on him, since you offered.” Hoseok smirks playfully and grabs Jimin’s wrist as he pulls him out of the room.

“Wha- Hyung! Come on… At least give me a blanket and a pillow.” Jungkook gives up and glances over to the sleeping Taehyung, smiling at the peaceful sight. A second later, Hoseok reappears with two fluffy white blankets and pillows in his two arms, waddling like a penguin to not trip up on anything.

“Don't anger him, Jungkook. I don't want to be waking up to a bloodied Maknae tomorrow.” Jungkook takes the items off his hyung and scoffs, rolling his eyes.

“Come on. If he was going to get angry at us, he would've done it in that field.” The youngest says bluntly, wondering where in the room to station his bed for the night. After saying their final good nights, Hoseok and Jimin return to their separate rooms upstairs and Jungkook leans against the wall in thought.  _ Wait… Human Taehyung had clothes on… Wolf Taehyung does not…  _ The realisation sets in and he wonders what happens to a werewolf’s clothes when they shift. Do they disappear and then reappear magically when they turn back into human form.  _ No, that's just impossible. _ Deciding that he'd rather not wake up to a possibly naked Taehyung, Jungkook sneaks upstairs and enters Hoseok’s room. He tiptoes towards the bed and gently taps Hoseok’s shoulder. “Hyung!” Jungkook whisper shouts as he nears the figure that has his back to him, hoping that he wasn't asleep yet. The hum that follows signals for the younger to speak. “Do you have any spare clothes?” Hoseok turns around, his eyes heavy from sleep deprivation.

“It's Friday, Jungkook, so you don't have to worry about getting dressed for college tomorrow.” His deep voice can't hide the sarcasm within it, causing Jungkook to frown.

“It's not for me. It's for Taehyung.” The elder sits up and looks confused for a second before gasping loudly.

“Oh right! What does happen to his clothes when he shifts?” With shrugged shoulders, Jungkook watches as his hyung walks over to his drawers and pulls out a pair of dark underwear, black sweatpants and an equally black hoodie that looks at least two sizes too big for Taehyung. Jungkook raises his eyebrows and chuckles at his hyungs choice of clothes, since Taehyung doesn't really wear things similar to them. Going along with it, he takes the materials and leaves Hoseok to sleep while he can, not forgetting to say his thanks and goodnights. The raven returns to the living room and damn nearly dies from a heart attack. The wolf is sitting directly in front of the door so, as soon as Jungkook opens it, it's the first thing he sees. Almost like it's his mission to frighten the younger, Taehyung jumps up excitedly and runs around the room playfully, nearly crashing into the couch multiple times.

“Calm down Taehyung hyung.” Jungkook sits down and places the clothes on the wooden floor beside him. Curious, Taehyung comes to a stop in order to sniff at the clothes and sit next to a grinning maknae. “You're adorable.” Jungkook pats the wolf’s head softly, shuffling slightly to retrieve his pillow and blanket without actually standing up. He sets up his makeshift bed for the night and gestures for Taehyung to retake his place on the couch. “Here you go…” he drapes the remaining blanket over the wolf after he lays down on the sofa, which Taehyung appreciates even though he is in wolf form and, probably, not in his right mind. As Jungkook begins to turn away so he could lie himself down on the hard floor, he feels a warm wet sensation across his cheek. The yelp that exits his mouth is probably the least manly sounding thing he's ever heard, but he couldn't think about that right now. He whips his head around to see the wolf sitting there with his pink tongue hanging loosely out of his agape mouth, giving Jungkook a good look at his large canines. “Wha- What was that for?” Was all he could muster up, trying to push the rising heat in his cheeks down but failing miserably. Taehyung let's out a quiet yip and returns to his previous lying position, the younger just figures that it's a wolf thing and settles his mind. As the wolf closes its yellow eyes, Jungkook says his goodnight and begins to slowly drift off to his own dream world. Where it used to be filled with his hyungs, only one person really stands out anymore. Taehyung.

 

The Maknae rolls onto his side as a loud alarm sounds through the house. Screaming… Wait, screaming? Jungkook jolts into a sitting position and looks around frantically to find the source. He visibly relaxes as he sees what's going on, his body telling him to go back to sleep but the sight is just too cute to ignore. It appears that Hoseok and Jimin had woken up before him, along with a - now human-shaped - Taehyung, who's crimson hair is sticking up in all places. It also seems that one of them had the ingenious idea of putting on, what seems like, a horror movie. It's god-knows o'clock in the morning and here they are watching a horror movie… What morons he has as friends. They're all hiding behind a blanket, the same one Taehyung was using last night, and the werewolf is wearing the clothes Hoseok chose. Now… Jungkook can’t lie. It damn well looks good on him. The hoodie, as he suspected, is in fact too large for the werewolf, giving him exaggerated sweater paws but this only makes him look that much more adorable when cowering from the movie on the screen. Taehyung moves his head slightly and catches Jungkook's gaze, holding it a second before smiling a large, rectangular grin. “Sorry Kookie, did we wake you?” He said in a husky voice, still quivering slightly from the earlier jump scare. Jimin and Hoseok also turn their attention to the younger and smile, unsettlingly similar to the same grin they display when one of their  _ plans _ succeeds. Pushing the thought back, Jungkook stands up and stretches his limbs.

“No, it's fine. Did you sleep alright, hyung?” He looks to Taehyung, who nods in response, and chuckles lightly. A chuckle that sounds like it could have the power to solve all the problems in this world. Suddenly, a shift changes in Taehyung’s eyes and he looks… Nervous? Scared, almost.

“Uh… I didn't do anything…” He pauses to inhale and bite his bottom lip anxiously. “I didn't do anything strange, did I?” The question comes as a shock to the human trio and they look at each other, wondering who should answer. Hoseok, technically being the eldest, takes the responsibility.

“No, Taehyung, you didn't do anything strange... Why ask that though?” Taehyung fidgets in his position between Jimin and Hoseok, pulling his knees up to his chest to hug them lightly, but doesn't answer. “Can't you remember what happens when you shift?” Hoseok queries, tilting his head as an incredibly noticeable blush makes its way up the werewolf’s neck and stay on his puffy cheeks.

“N-no… I don't re-remember a thing.” He replies with a quiet, almost whisper, voice. Jimin had now paused the movie they were watching and, instead, paying close attention to the flustered redhead.

“Well, Tae…” Jimin’s careful and slow tone didn't settle well with Taehyung, presuming that he's going to say that he hurt someone or did indeed do something weird. “We did see something that we’re curious about.” Jungkook had now made his way over and sat on the floor directly in front of Taehyung. The werewolf would have to lower his knees if he wanted to see the younger properly, so that's what he did. Taehyung asks what they saw but he isn't sure that he wants an answer to that. Jimin leans over and pulls on Taehyung’s right arm, causing the slightly younger one to flinch at the touch and his eyes to turn a shimmering gold involuntarily. The three friends freeze at this and figure that it couldn't be a coincidence that the last two times someone had touched him suddenly, his eyes have glowed up a fluorescent gold. Taehyung looks down quickly, ashamed at his eyes’ ability to let everyone around him know his emotions. After taking a second to calm a little, his eyes refusing to return to their original brown, he let's Jimin roll up the sleeve to Hoseok’s hoodie that hardly hugs his body. Taehyung couldn't bring himself to look at the ugly mark on the inside of his wrist, it's sharp form not faded in the slightest since it was first given to him when he was five. He knows what's coming but he's not ready to face it. Not ready to tell people what happened to him during those twelve torturous years in the facility. Although, he has an idea that these three humans will eventually want him to open up, something he hasn't done in a long time. How did they even know the mark was there? Does it still show even when he's shaped like a wolf? Does that mean the fur around it isn't growing back? The questions racing in his mind are stopped when an aloud question is asked from Jungkook.

“What does ‘V’ mean, Taehyung?” The use of the, seemingly harmless, letter causes a cold shiver to run down his spine and his eyes to glow even brighter than they were before. Sensing his discomfort, Hoseok rubs the younger’s shoulder and reassures that it's safe here.

“I-I was in a-a…” He couldn't bring himself to say it. The word on the tip of his tongue yet refusing to escape his lips. Once again, Hoseok comforts him and it helps Taehyung more than the elder could imagine. “Facility.” He exhales deeply after saying it, knowing that he wouldn't be made to repeat it. The other three are still unsure as to why it was so difficult for the werewolf to say the simple word. “I was always called V because I-I was the fifth one.” The realisation hits them like a truck and the humans gasp, instantly feeling sorry for the werewolf that's too innocent and kind to experience what he must have. They don't know what goes on in these ‘facilities’ but they have heard the numerous rumours and seen on the news what the inside looks like. To put it simply, it's a prison. No. Worse than a prison. With cages barely big enough for a bed, some don't even have that. At least prisons have an outside courtyard where prisoners can go and stretch their legs and even socialise. Facilities don't have these, the werewolves are constantly in chains. The only time they're not in chains is when they're being strapped to tables to be put through procedures, whether they be tested physically, mentally or biologically. The scientists and doctors are always looking for werewolves with a gene to make it easier for them to gain self-control. These facilities have a reputation for hiding their true agenda but, from what he remembers (which honestly isn’t much) from the lab he was kept in, Taehyung suspects that it was - and still is in some places - military related. The werewolf fidgets in his seat and avoids eye contact with the other three, mentally praying that they drop the topic as quickly as it came up.

“Ok then…” Jungkook stands up, startling Taehyung and even the other two boys. “You can tell us more when you’re ready.” Jimin and Hoseok agree with the words of the youngest, the latter clearly proud at his maturity. However, internally, the maknae is furious. Angry at the shitty people in the world that allow this to happen; to put innocent werewolves through unthinkable amounts of pain. “Hey, Hoseok hyung, how much ramyeon d’you have?” The elder can only laugh at his question.

“What do you take me for, Jungkookie?” Hoseok pulls the blanket off him and stands up, stretching his legs before grinning madly. “I always have ramyeon. I’m never without ramyeon, no matter the day or situation. Ramyeon is my religion. Ramyeon is my sexuality.” Jimin and Jungkook burst out laughing at their hyung’s dramatically serious monologue, Taehyung joining in after a moment of contemplation which helps to comfort the humans. Hoseok then proceeds to the kitchen to produce their first meal of the day. What could be better than the long, golden noodles of deliciousness to start off their day?

“Maybe we could invite the rest of our hyungs... Later on, I mean.” Jimin suggests, looking to his dongsaengs for approval. He’s happy to see that they both appear to like his idea, even if Taehyung looked unsure for a second before nodding. His eyes have finally decided to go back to their chocolatey brown colour and this relieves the humans in the room. “Now to figure out what to do for the rest of the day.” The orange-haired boy leans his head back onto the couch, exhaling as a loud silence falls over them. After a minute, Jungkook takes the seat beside Taehyung on the tanned sofa, risking the wrath of the person that used to be sitting there, before speaking.

“For now… Ramyeon is priority. Plans come second.”


	3. Blue Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as much YoonMin as I would've liked but... oh well, it just ended up that way.  
> Either way, enjoy this new chapter ^.^

Screaming. And more screaming. With maybe a little bit more screaming. What did Jungkook expect when he decided to agree with Jimin? When he chose to let other people into Hoseok’s house? But here's the thing, something greatly unexpected has happened… He's actually having fun.

 

“Hoseok, will you shut up? Please.” Seokjin sighs exasperatedly, he's only been at the house for five minutes and a ‘shut up’ has already been given. What do you think that means for the rest of the day? It can only get better, of course. Currently, it’s 10:34am (not like any of them have checked - it is Saturday after all) and they’re all sitting on the floor of the living room, in a circle. Hoseok is jumping up and down at the dare he's been given. When Jimin invited them over to Hoseok’s, said dongsaeng ‘forgot’ to mention one little detail: Taehyung’s presence. For any of the others, they didn't care. It's just one more person to come up with dares and enjoy time with, although they all kind of want to know what happened last night. None of them have spoken of it and the wolf is grateful for that. Yoongi has been making a point of ignoring Tae and choosing to not even look at him. That is until Jimin comes up with a plan. For now, Hoseok still needs to complete his dare or face a punishment by one of the members - definitely Jungkook. His dare? Just to make sure that the last word, of any sentences he says, begins with a ‘C’. Until someone says the word ‘fuck’, punishing both Hoseok, the resident talker, and Yoongi, the resident foul-mouth.

“Taehyung, you're a genius!” Jungkook laughs, clapping his hands wildly like the overexcited child he is. The werewolf chuckles along and swiftly apologises to his brown-haired hyung with flushed cheeks.

“Taehyung, I swear, you're gonna pay for this, cool?” Hoseok's voice raises in pitch at the last word, making it clear to them that a question mark was what followed it. It didn't make complete sense but they don't care and laugh nevertheless. Once they calm down a little, Jimin clears his throat to make sure they know that it's his turn.

“Yoongi, I dare you to…” He keeps his eyes away from the mint hyung, feeling the dark eyes staring at him with warning. The wolf shuffles nervously, also deciding to not stare at Yoongi for too long. “I dare you to give everyone here a compliment. A genuine compliment, no jokes.” Everyone gasps at Jimin’s idea until they begin to chuckle quietly, impatient to hear what Suga has to say. With a heavy sigh, he turns to Namjoon to start his torture.

“Namjoon, you have a great intelligence but you're sometimes too clumsy for it to do any good.” Then addressed blonde chuckles at the part compliment part insult, figuring that it's better than just receiving an insult, which is what he expected. “Hoseok, your happiness is contagious but sometimes your loudness is too much.” He says as he turns to the ecstatic boy, who's clapping his hands at getting a compliment.

“Thank you, Suga, for the compliment.” He says the sentence slowly, trying to think of a way to end it until he thinks of ‘compliment’ and builds the sentence, happy with himself. With a nod, Yoongi turns to the person next to him.

“Seokjin … ah… Your care for other people goes unmatched, but we don't need reminding of how handsome you are every five minutes. We get it.” Jin laughs at this and pretends to do a fabulous hair flip - if his hair was longer maybe it would've worked - while nodding slightly, not denying his own beauty. Yoongi turns to the youngest and takes a deep breath. “Jungkook-ah, you're good at pretty much everything but sometimes you get a little too competitive, yeah?” He tilts his head to Jungkook as the boy smiles back, nodding his head. Yoongi hates this. Having to compliment all these dorks. It's not like he hates them, he sees them as brothers in fact, but it's something he doesn't find easy to do. Yoongi turns to Jimin with a slight smile, taking a moment to think how to compliment the Busan boy. “Jimin-ah… You have a big heart, probably too big for your own good. But, sometimes, you need to worry about yourself more than others.” Jimin lowers his head at this, a blush quickly making its way onto his puffy cheeks. The orange-head instantly knows what the older is saying and how it's a subtle warning to stop being concerned about him. Yoongi clears his throat and sits back, “Thank god that's over.” He says with a sigh, closing his eyes and thankful that it's now his turn to give out a dare. That is until a hand taps his shoulder gently.

“Suga hyung, there's still one more person.” Jimin speaks up, gesturing his head over to Taehyung, who's taken a keen interest in the floor and looking as uncomfortable as he possibly can. Jungkook is staring daggers at his mint hyung and has promptly crossed his arms. Yoongi takes a second to sigh loudly, turning his head to look at the werewolf even though he isn’t looking back.

“Wolf, you’re good at doing as you’re told but you need to stop pissing on the couch and be a good pup.”

“Yoongi!” Seokjin gasps, covering his own mouth with his hand, unable to believe that his oldest dongsaeng would say something so discriminative. Jimin hits his older’s arm and everyone in the room turns to Taehyung, whose head is hung low and eyes are squeezed shut. Jungkook’s hands have clenched into fists, making his knuckles white, and doesn’t say a word. A few moments later, Taehyung raises his head and opens his eyes, the golden orbs looking at Suga. The boy, however, just stares back and his lips pull up into a smirk. None of them notice the tears in his eyes until they’re already making their way down his cheeks to drip on the floor he’s sitting on.

“Tae-”

“I get that I’m a monster, a beast, but I don’t need you to remind me.” Taehyung’s voice stays low, the shy boy temporarily forgotten, and the tears keep falling refusing to stop. The humans sit, frozen, not sure of what to do or how to diffuse the ticking time-bomb that is known as Taehyung. His eyes aren’t as yellow as they were before, but they’re definitely not their original brown. They can’t help but notice the flecks of a new colour present in his eyes, wondering what it means or if they even want to know. Jimin, taking initiative, stands up and pulls Suga along with him. He doesn’t receive any protests from the elder nor anyone else in the room as he drags him out of the room, and then the house.

 

“What the fuck, Yoongi? You can’t just say that!” Jimin yells, his face red from fury, once they’re out of the door - not caring if the people inside can hear them. Suga only shrugs, pulling a familiar packet and box out of his pocket. From the packet he pulls out a lone cigarette and, with his lighter, lights it with a satisfying grin. He takes a long drag of it and holds the smoke in his lungs for a second before exhaling it in Jimin’s face, causing the younger to cough and turn his head away.

“I was just telling the truth, even he knows it’s true.” He replies before taking a few more puffs of the cigarette. That is before Jimin reaches up and pulls it out of his mouth. “What the fuck, Jimin?”

“Yea, well, we need to talk.” Jimin takes hold of Yoongi’s forearm and pulls him out onto the sidewalk, striding down the street. There might as well be smoke coming out of his ears. It turns out that the place they need to talk is at the cafe across the street from Hoseok’s house. The mint-haired boy doesn’t raise any complaints as he’s pulled into a booth, taking a seat across from Jimin. They sit in silence before a waitress comes over to take their orders. “Two strawberry milkshakes, please.” Then more silence. A deafening silence in which they just stare at one another, mentally daring the other to speak. The shakes arrive and the lack of noise becomes even more evident, both of them too stubborn to give in. Finally, Yoongi sighs loudly and sits back in his seat completely.

“So, what? Jimin, you were the one that wanted to talk.” The orange-haired boy tilts his head and takes a long sip of his delicious shake.

“What happened to you?” He asks, a sad look clearly visible in his dark eyes.

“What do you mean?” The question being answered with another, sarcastic-laced, question annoys the younger. Yoongi senses his anger and sighs, taking a big gulp of his drink. “Fine... “ His voice quietens and watches as the younger looks at him curiously, nodding his head for the older to begin. “A couple of weeks ago, I got a call.” Jimin nods, easily remembering the time when Suga had to leave the cafeteria to answer the dreaded call. After that, he disappeared and when he eventually reappeared four days later at school, he was a different person. Smoking and alcohol taking up his time. The only good thing to come out of this change was the discovery of his hidden tattoo. Everything else, Jimin hates. “It was my Dad telling me that his brother, my uncle, died.” Yoongi’s eyes lower. Unlike the first time he heard the news, no tears fall. No sobs escape his throat. No obscenities are thrown into the cold, unforgiving wind. The only sound is Jimin’s glass being placed back onto the table. “Sorry, more like killed.” Jimin quietly gasps at this revelation, wanting to let Yoongi know that he’s sorry but deciding not to out of respect, allowing the elder to continue. “My uncle was like a second father to me, as you already knew. He’s the one who taught me how to play the piano.” Jimin nods, reaching out his hand to place on top of Suga’s on the table, reassuring him. Yoongi flinches slightly at the contact since he’s never one for skinship of any kind. The slight smile on the elder’s face seeming strange after weeks of cold Min Yoongi, which causes Jimin to mirror the expression. “My Dad told me that he was killed by a werewolf.” Suga takes a deep breath and looks into Jimin’s widened eyes, the realisation hitting him.

“So that’s why you gave up the piano?” He asks softly, giving a light squeeze to Yoongi’s hand as the latter nods slowly. “Why you started smoking and drinking?” Another nod, “Why you got the tattoo?” Suga nods and a big, gummy smile makes its way onto his pale face.

“But you like that tattoo. Don’t deny it.” Defeated, Jimin chuckles and rubs the back of his neck with his hand (the one not holding onto Yoongi’s), certainly not denying the accusation. He loves the tattoo. What the tattoo is and where it is, he adores it.

“Wait…” Jimin removes his hand from the elder’s hand and narrows his eyes, “So, that’s why you’re treating Taehyung like shit. Because he happens to be a werewolf too?” The orange-head sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, pushing the impending headache away. It doesn’t make sense to him. Why Suga would judge Tae and treat him poorly just because a different werewolf murdered his Uncle? No matter how traumatic that event is, it still doesn’t give the older boy the right to mistreat the red-head. Yoongi nods his head, his face hardening at the mention of the quiet wolf. “Suga, you’re an asshole. You know that, right?”

“No, enlighten me.” Yoongi crosses his arms and tilts his head. Jimin sighs for the umpteenth time, running a hand annoyedly through his orange hair.

“Would you treat all humans like shit because you find out that one of them killed someone?” Yoongi looks down, shaking his head reluctantly, and instantly gets what the younger is saying. He’s been a jerk and he knows it, but he just can’t treat the werewolf like a part of the group. He knows that he’s stepping out of line but he can’t help it, his uncle is - was everything to him. He would even say that he thought of the man as a friend, brother and father all-in-one. To know that he was killed by someone - a werewolf - broke his heart. It just happens that Taehyung is also a werewolf. “You don’t know Tae. What he looks like under the light of a full moon, it’s truly beautiful.” His mind returns to the last night and the way Taehyung’s wolf ran alongside them, wagging his tail joyfully. “Or what he’s been through…” His voice drops and then he remembers what the wolf had told them this morning, before Yoongi and the others arrived.

“I-”

“He’s been through more than we can imagine and, for all we know, we’re the closest thing to friends he’s ever had.” Jimin interrupts, staring right into Suga’s guilty eyes. The elder realises just how much he’s fucked up.

 

As the brightly hair-coloured couple escapes the house, the remaining humans watch a silent, crying Taehyung, unsure of how to calm him. His eyes still glow a bright gold, the presence of the new colour still visible in them. The colours swirl and intertwine, twirling with one another in a beautiful dance that mesmerises them.

“Hey… Tae?” No response comes to Jin’s words, the oldest leaning against Namjoon in an unsettled manner. The others fidget nervously, Taehyung staring straight ahead, unmoving and unblinking isn’t helping. The tears have finally stopped, drying onto his tanned cheeks. Minutes go by and the wolf shows no sign of consciousness, making them all genuinely concerned. Hoseok had, at some point, left to retrieve him a glass of water and has placed it on the floor directly in front of him. If anyone were to see him, they’d mistake him for sleeping - except he’s sitting up and his eyes are wide open.

“Can I try something to wake him up?” Jungkook asks, tearing his eyes from Taehyung to look at the others for approval, despite them not knowing what he plans to do. Hoseok sends him a warning glance, having an idea of what the youngest has in store and not wanting something to break out. He moves to sit in front of the wolf and looks into his eyes. Taehyung is looking directly at him - or more at his nose - but his eyes are glassy. They’re still glowing yet darkened. Open yet unseeing. Beautiful yet pained. The younger inhales, prepared to face any consequences of what he’s about to do and how he’ll need to explain a few things to the rest of his hyungs. “V.” Taehyung’s eyes snap up and pulse a mix of colour, the two appearing to be fighting for dominance. The yellow seems to win as the other colour dissipates. A low growl resonates and Jungkook tilts his head. “Sorry, I had to.” He whispers, trying to avoid the deathly gaze of the werewolf. Taehyung’s eyes return to their chocolate brown and softens, a quiet sniffle sounding from him.

“S-Sorry…” He lowers his head and spots the drink left for him, picking it up to take a few big gulps of it. “I don’t know what happened.” The humans visibly relax at this, Jin staying leaned into Namjoon for an unknown reason. They sit in a comfortable silence and Taehyung places his glass back down to the floor, seeing as it is now empty. He can now really feel the four sets of eyes on him, watching his every more. It brings a wave of familiarity that he doesn’t welcome at all. The feeling of people watching him. People making notes on him. Experiment on him. _No._ He shakes the memories and intruding thoughts away, not ready to face what happened to him.

“So, Tae…” Seokjin begins, sitting up straight so he isn’t leaning on the younger blonde, as he talks. “What does blue mean?” The mention of the colour makes Taehyung gasp and clamp a hand over his own mouth. “Your eyes… They were blue. Gold and blue.” The other people nod in agreement with their hyung and look to the werewolf expectantly.

“They were… Blue?” His voice comes out as a quiet mumble and he lowers his head, shaking it vigorously. They hum in response, waiting to hear why Taehyung’s eyes were shining a bright blue along with its shimmering gold. “No… They were right. All along, they were right. That’s why…” Taehyung looks up at them all and a terrified look makes its way onto his face.

“Why? What does it mean?” Hoseok asks, inching a little closer to the werewolf.

“It means that I… I’m a… I’m something that shouldn’t exist. An unnatural phenomenon that’s a disgrace to nature. Even the goddess of the Moon is disgusted by what I am.” Taehyung can’t stop the word vomit and tugs at his red locks, heavily distressed at the discovery he hadn’t expected so soon. His breathing speeds up and he doesn’t realise Jungkook’s closeness until arms are wrapping around his body.

“Just breathe.” The younger whispers and Tae obeys, hoping that his heart isn’t as loud as it is for him.

“Look at that! Kookie is hugging! He hates it when I do that though.” Hoseok pouts but he throws his arms up in silent celebration, the shipper side of him coming out.

“Shut up.” Jungkook says as he pulls away from Taehyung after he seems to have calmed down a bit. “Continue, hyung.”

“I don’t know how much you know about werewolves…”

“Just assume we know nothing.” Namjoon tells him, not lying at all. The most they know is what happens on a full moon.

“Ok.” He stops for a moment to put his thoughts in order, wondering where to start. “There are four different types of werewolf. Each one has different characteristics. The Alphas are the leaders, they can read the minds and emotions of wolves in their pack and, sometimes, weaker wolves they know. There are some Alphas that are called ‘Blood Alphas’, they’re the ones with both parents that are also Alphas. These are the strongest and can read the minds of most wolves. They can even command regular Alphas and legends say that they can also control elements. They’re rare because Alphas can barely stand each other as it is, nor mind mate. The most common wolves are Betas. They have heightened senses, their hearing and sight are the best among the wolves and this makes them the warriors of the pack. Then, the Thetas. These are also known as the Fae of the wolves. They’re incredibly in tune with nature and have varying abilities, much like Fae - which I hope you know of... Then there’s the weakest of the wolves: Omegas. They have the smallest wolf form and are the most submissive. They are always female; it’s just how it is, since they’re said to produce the strongest pups. All Omegas are female but not all females are Omegas. They can calm wolves with just a look or a touch, always being connected with the emotions of the pack. Although they always seem to be the ones taken advantage of, seeing as they can’t disobey even the smallest command and don’t have the strength to defend themselves.” Taehyung’s eyes glued to his own hands, as he fiddles with his fingers mindlessly. He’s thankful that they sit quietly as he speaks in a clear voice. He takes a moment for them to take it in, making sure that he’s explaining it in a way they understand. Once he sees them nod for him to continue, he does just that. “Each rank has a different eye colour. All wolves are born with yellow and their actual wolf eye colour can show itself at any time, you never truly know when.” At this, the humans all sit up a little straighter, appearing to lean towards him like it’ll make them hear him better. “Alphas are red. Blood Alphas are red too, since they’re, you know, Alphas. Betas stay yellow.” Namjoon and Seokjin exchange glances while Hoseok and Jungkook keep their eyes directly on him, giving their full attention to the wolf. “Thetas are purple. Finally, Omegas are blue.” It takes them a moment to react, with Seokjin being the first.

 

“What?!” His voice is a high-pitched shrill and he waves his arms around out of confusion. “But you said that Omegas can only be female… Your eyes did turn blue a bit before returning back to yellow.” Taehyung shuffles a little at this, still not believing the rank that the Moon has given him.

“Well… There are times when even nature fucks up. It’s said that the goddess of the Moon fixes these messes but, eventually, they catch up to Her. That’s when male Omegas are produced. These are extremely rare, much rarer than Blood Alphas, since the Moon is strong enough to push back the inconsistencies. But, even She can’t hold them back for long.” He tilts his head up to look at the ceiling, like he’s mentally communicating with the Moon goddess Herself. “I didn’t even know that they were actually real until… Now, I guess. Although, my eyes haven’t took yet, that could take however long it wants. For now my eyes will remain gold until the Moon gives me my eyes. Usually, wolves have to impress Her to earn them, no matter their rank.” Taehyung lowers his head and shrugs his shoulders, looking at the humans and tries to figure out what they’re thinking.

“Wait, Tae, but if you were in a facility, how do you know this?” Hoseok asks in a careful voice, reminding himself of how hard it was for the wolf to say the ‘f’ word - and it’s not the swear word. Namjoon and Seokjin gasp quietly at this information, only now hearing it for the first time.

“Wh-When I was there, th- there were many of us… The pe-people in white jackets said things. To-told us things.” He curses the uncontrollable stutter that comes along with talking about the past he’s trying so hard to forget. It’s harder than he thought. “Th-they wanted the strongest, so they’d p-predict our ranks. Th-they always joked that I-I was an Omega, so would t-treat me worse.” This time, he could feel the tears brimming in his eyes before they fall, although he sniffs and holds them in, not wanting to cry anymore. It seems that Jin is on the verge of breaking down crying, so Namjoon has placed an arm around the elder’s shoulders and his hugging him tightly. Taehyung has been curious about their relationship but has never had the courage to ask about it, deciding to just let them be. They are adorable together after all. He brings his brown eyes back to Jungkook, who’s just looking back with something Taehyung didn’t want to see: pity. He doesn’t want pity. He doesn’t want to be a burden. He just wants to be understood. Understood and loved.

“Thank you.” The youngest whispers, gaining all of their attention, and he smiles a cute bunny smile that crinkles his nose up and just about manages to melt the wolf’s heart. “Thank you for opening up.” He stands up and stretches his legs with a satisfying hum, jumping slightly when the front door slams shut and words can be heard.

 

All of their heads turn to the door of the living room as the familiar orange and mint haired boys enter and fall silent at the sight. Before either of them can talk, Jin stands up and puts up a threatening finger.

“There are some things you both need to catch up with.” He tells them, his hands finding places on his hips as he tilts his head. “And you,” He points to Yoongi with a slight frown, “Are going to apologise to our precious TaeTae”.


	4. Lavender

“Taehyung…” Yoongi lowers his eyes. After Jin explained everything about the werewolf, the mint haired boy felt like shit. He's still not completely sure that he's willing to open up to Taehyung, but Yoongi does feel sorry for the wolf and believes that he should give Taehyung a chance instead of dismissing him. “I'm so fucking sorry. You didn't deserve that childhood and, even though I'm not the most sensitive person, I hope you can open up to us.” Taehyung looks up from his spot on the floor - since he didn't move or speak while Seokjin spoke - and smiles faintly.

“Thank you Yoongi.” He says quietly, unable to stop smiling and blushing. Hoseok coos loudly and claps his hands. “Shut up…” the wolf mumbles, the shade of red making its way to his ears. They all chuckle at the adorableness and Suga taps Jimin’s shoulder discreetly as everyone else fusses around Taehyung.

“I need a smoke.” He whispers into the younger’s ear (unknowingly causing him to shiver) and begins to walk out of the room. Hoseok is alright with a lot of stuff happening in his home but smoking is crossing the line. A line that they all respect. However, before Yoongi could get even three steps away from the orange head, a hand grasps onto his wrist.

“Hey guys! Suga wants to go out somewhere with all of us.” Jimin blatantly lies, since Yoongi would never willingly go out in public, finding most humans outside of these five unbearably annoying. Jungkook stands up, dragging Taehyung with him, and nods his head with a chuckle.

“Let's do it! What a good idea, Gramps.” the youngest teases before running out of the room, hand-in-hand with a tomato, sorry, Taehyung. Hoseok laughs before following them, his hands waving above his head frantically. Namjoon stands up and holds out a hand for Seokjin to take, helping him up like a perfect gentlemen.

“Come on then, children!” Jin shouts as he walks out of the door to be greeted by the scene of Taehyung over Jungkook’s shoulder, a terrified expression on his face. “Jungkook! Put the boy down!” He shrieks, watching as Hoseok chases after them with grabby hands and shouting something about wanting a cuddle. Yoongi sighs and turns to Jimin, quickly flicking the younger’s head.

“Ow! What was that for?” Jimin pouts, rubbing his forehead like it would reduce the pain.

“Why'd you do that?” Yoongi crosses his arms ands shakes his head. “All I wanted was a cigarette and you turned it into a family outing.” Jimin smirks and shrugs his shoulders sloppily.

“That's exactly why.” He answers, greatly amused by Yoongi’s confused look. “You need to stop smoking. It's a bad habit that makes you smell.” Jimin scrunches up his nose as if to emphasise his point. Yoongi tilts his head to the side.

“I didn't realise how much you value my smell.” Yoongi teases as he takes a step towards the increasingly flustered younger boy. Jimin gulps and lowers his head, cursing himself for letting Yoongi affect him in this way.

“We should get going. Knowing Hoseok, we’ll get left behind.” After creating that extremely loose excuse, Jimin swiftly exits the room and leaves a chuckling Yoongi behind to wonder why Jimin was acting like this. It couldn't be that Jimin likes- _Stop thinking that_. He shakes his head and takes a deep breath, leaving the room empty. Now, the image that falls before him is not one that he was expecting. Taehyung, as red as ever, remains hanging over Jungkook’s shoulder while Hoseok continues to chase them (shouting something that sounds oddly similar to ‘TaeKook’), while Jimin and Namjoon watch with huge grins and Seokjin shouts after them to put down his ‘child’.

“I have the strangest friends.”

 

After they calm down and the youngest put down the wolf once their weird way-too-energetic hyung stopped running after them, the seven of them started walking down the scarcely populated streets. Jungkook stays uncharacteristically close to Taehyung - since he usually prefers his own space - and talks to him normally about random things. Jimin keeps a close eye on Yoongi, just in case the elder decides to sneak off for a smoke. Which he's absolutely debated doing but doesn't because of how important this seems to be for Jimin. They all agreed on heading to a nearby café for some morning coffee, although Jin is the only one that's been there before, so he's the appointed navigator. Something they're not sure is a mistake or not yet.

“-and then the horse sneezed on me!” Jungkook and Taehyung tune into Hoseok’s story a little too late, so they have no context for this comment.

“What? I know that you and horses have a mutual respect, but I never knew you were close enough for them to consider you a handkerchief.” Jungkook chuckles, feeling glad to have a crazy friend like Hoseok.

“Handkerchief? What century are you from, Kook?” Yoongi shakes his head, smiling at the youngest’s choice of words. Seokjin gasps, overly dramatically.

“There are still some gentlemen left in the world, Yoongi. That’s just not a word you're familiar with.” The oldest links his arm with Namjoon’s, confirming any suspicions they had about their relationship. “At least I raised this child right.” He claims with a toothy grin, pointing a finger at Jungkook.

“One: still not your children.” Yoongi states and Jin rolls his eyes. “Two: I can be a gentlemen.” He takes off his black leather jacket and wraps it around Jimin’s shoulders. The younger jumps a little at the surprisingly kind gesture, his cheeks flushing. “I saw that you were shivering.” Yoongi leans into Jimin's ear to whisper, causing yet another shiver (certainly not caused by the cold) to run down the younger’s spine. Not knowing what to say back to that, Jimin keeps his mouth closed and just holds onto the jacket hanging off his shoulders, enjoying the warmth being emitted by it.

“Alright, leave the mochi alone.” Hoseok says from behind Taehyung, staring up at the sky to think of something to do.

“Yoongi hyung?” Taehyung’s voice sounds, quietly. Even though they sorted things out, he doesn't want to be annoying or a nuisance to the elder. Yoongi turns his head towards the wolf, no longer reluctant on talking with him. “Why do people call you ‘Sugar’?” All of the humans let out a unified chuckle.

“It's because he's really pale. Like, _inhumanly_ pale.” Jimin explains, pinching the elder’s now-exposed arm (thanks to the removal of the jacket) for effect. “He's also really sweet. Isn't it obvious how sweet he can be?” The orange head giggles at Yoongi’s reaction of shaking his head.

“Watch it, Chim, get too close to him and you might need to visit the dentist.” Hoseok says, patting the younger’s back with a toothy grin.

“No… but there isn't an ‘R’ at the end. S-U-G-A.” Yoongi spells out, just so the wolf understands.

“Why no ‘R’? It's a part of the word.” Taehyung asks, heavily confused as to why he'd just remove letters from a word. The other humans all turn to Yoongi, waiting for his famous I-don't-actually-have-a-reason excuse.

“‘Cos swag.” He makes two ‘V’ signs with his hands and brings his shoulders up in a half-assed shrug. Everyone bursts out laughing, unable to contain it one bit. Seokjin inhales and holds out an extended finger.

“Did you guys hear about the dentist that was found dead the other day with a hatchet stuck in his head? It was pretty tragic.” He tells them with a serious face, earning a collective ‘what’ from them all.

“What the fuck, Jin? That's pretty mor-”

“Wait for it.” Hoseok interrupts Yoongi, a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

“The police called it an axe-i-dental death.” The laugh to follow was a squeaky one, definitely belonging to the eldest. Hoseok and Taehyung also let out genuine laughs, tears brimming their eyes - the first time in a long while that Taehyung has cried for a positive reason.

“Goddammit… why didn't I see that coming?” Yoongi groans, shaking his head, yet the slight smile on his face betrays him. Jimin also sports a thin smile, clearly trying to hold it back but seeing the ever-emotionless Suga smiling tipped him over the edge.

With a gasp Hoseok lowers his head and extends a hand, seemingly over his hysteric fit of laughter. “Rock.” Everyone looks at Hoseok like he's finally gone crazy and started spouting nonsense. “Paper.” This time they look at each other, trying to figure out what he was going on about. Jimin seems to click, along with Jungkook and Namjoon, as they all also extend their hands. “Scissors.” The rest of them understand and extend their hands quickly. “Shoot!” Taehyung and Jungkook groan loudly, staring at their hands in disbelief. All of them, except for the youngest two, choose paper. Leaving Jungkook and Taehyung to choose rock, making them lose together.

“Punishment time!” Jimin yells out in excitement, waving his ‘paper’ in their faces triumphantly.

“I got one!” Hoseok claps excitedly, almost like he planned the punishment before the game even began. “You have to stare in each other’s eyes for a full minute.”

“What the fuck, Hoseok?” Yoongi sighs, shaking his head at his friend. “Out of all the punishments, you chose something to satisfy your shipper side?” He crosses his arms as Hoseok nods wildly, not even attempting to hide it.

“Wait… You do _not_ ship us.” Jungkook moans, rubbing his forehead in annoyance at his immature hyung.

“Why are ships being brought into this? We’re nowhere near the sea.” Taehyung puts a finger on his chin in thought. The years in the Lab, where he had no socialisation or connection to the outside world, might have something to do with his cluelessness.

“Nothing, Tae… OK! Now stare!” Hoseok grabs the back of their heads and forces them to look at each other, an unnatural staring competition starting. After a couple of moments, Hoseok releases them and watches as they both continue staring at each other, neither of them showing any signs of breaking eye contact. All of a sudden Taehyung blinks and looks off somewhere to his left, his nose scrunching up like he's smelled a scent most displeasing.

“What's up, Tae?” Jungkook asks, worried for the wolf and his peculiar behaviour. The addressed boy just shakes his head and pulls the hood of his - Hoseok’s - black hoodie over his head. All he can hope is that the human scent on the clothes and around him will disguise him enough.

 

He hoped for too much apparently.

 

“Oh my god! Is that little Taehyungie?” A high-pitched female voice squeals, hurting their ears and even without having the heightened senses that werewolves do. Taehyung keeps his head turned towards Jungkook, refusing to look at the source of that voice he knows all too well. Mainly because he knows who'll be with her. The six humans all turn towards the sound, only to see a short, light haired woman hanging off the arm of a larger man. Two other men seem to be accompanying them, all of them seeming close friends. “Look, Shinwoo! It's our TaeTae.” She says, shaking the arm of the one she's grasping onto as if her life depends on it. The said male tilts his head and smiles, taking an obvious sniff of the air before sighing.

“It appears so Eunji.” His voice is of mid-pitch - not too masculine but not at all feminine - and his head is shaved. “But his scent is a little… different. Finally got your eyes, V?” The humans surrounding Taehyung tense a little and glance towards him before protectively moving closer to him. “And made some human friends, I see. You should be hanging out with your own kind.” Shinwoo claims, infuriating Jungkook but he doesn't do anything yet.

“Maybe he's gone mute.” The girl, Eunji, whispers loudly - to the point where it can hardly be called a whisper. “Go check, Hyunjae.” She says to a brown-haired and sharp looking man to Shinwoo’s left, the side that she isn't on. This Hyunjae takes a step towards the group, making Jungkook wrap an arm around the wolf’s waist almost possessively. Taehyung jumps a little at the gesture before turning his head to face the four werewolves he knows. “Oh. Maybe not.” She chuckles, noticing the interaction between Taehyung and the raven.

“What do you guys want?” His voice is barely audible but the resentment can still be heard. The third guy doesn't like that too much, since he takes a step forward with a frown on his face and raises his right hand out in front of him. Taehyung’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “Please don’t Jinseong.”

“ **Come here**.” To the humans, Jinseong’s voice sounds low and commanding. To Taehyung, his voice was deafening. Echoing inside his head. Hurting his ears. Controlling his body. He moved forward against his will, out of Jungkook’s comforting hold. The humans share a glance and watch as the red wolf approaches the other four. “You shouldn't be wasting your time with those humans.” Taehyung lowers his head, unable to look the Theta wolf in the eyes that he knows are currently glowing a dark purple. He never used to be this affected by Jinseong’s commands, or even Shinwoo’s, even though he's an Alpha. He puts it to the high possibility of him being an Omega, despite his eyes not having completely took. “You're seeming a little too submissive, Tae. Have your eyes took yet?” A quick shake of his head was all he received. “Use your words, _sweetie_.” Yoongi has to place a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder before the younger gets himself hurt, noticing how his hands are curled into fists. Jungkook is not an aggressive person, which makes it that much more of a surprise as to why he’s acting this way around the werewolf.

“I wanna kick this guy’s ass.” Yoongi does, however, whisper to the others, not even caring that the wolves will probably be able to hear him - which they can. Taehyung still refuses to answer.

“V.” No answer. “Fine. Hey, you -” Jinseong points to Jungkook “come here.”

“Don’t, Jinseong. I’ll answer.” Taehyung sighs, wanting to reduce how much his friends (or the closest things to friends he has) getting involved. Jinseong has different ideas, as he still waves Jungkook over. Seokjin tries to get him to stop moving, but the younger seems determined. “Jungkook, go back.” He warns the raven quietly, getting an idea of what the Theta will do, although he does visibly relax with being beside the younger. Eunji, Shinwoo and Hyunjae all watch in amusement, wondering how this will go, and let the oldest wolf do his thing.

“So you got a boyfriend, Tae? I thought you were waiting to find your mate- that’s why you rejected me, right? So, what changed or are you expecting me to believe that this _human_ is your mate?” Jinseong places his hands on his hips and pouts slightly. Jungkook, instantly understanding what the taller werewolf is getting at, takes a sidestep towards Taehyung which only proceeds to anger Jinseong.

“I… Please stop this. You don’t need to do anything.” Taehyung practically begs, on the verge of tears because of what Jinseong will inevitably do. It’s what Thetas are best at: telling others what to do and being extremely jealous.  
“Oh, Tae, but I think that **you really want to hit him**.” That voice. That loud, booming, commanding voice that shakes Taehyung to his very core. His hands begin to shake. Eyes beginning to waver.

 

 _I don’t want to do this._  
_I don’t want to do this._  
_I don't want to do this._  
_I don't want to do this._  
_I might want to do this._  
_I do._  
_I want to do this._

 

Taehyung turns to the younger, his eyes golden and pained. Jungkook takes a step away from him, holding up his hands to show that he’s not going to fight. The wolf’s hands clench into fists and he prepares to swing, ready to hit the raven’s exposed cheek. That’s when it hit him. Lavender and dew. A scent that consumes him. A scent that he can’t escape from. A scent that he can’t hit.

“No.” His deep voice returns, no longer shaken with fear but instead firm with confidence. He looks Jungkook in the eyes, knowing that the human won’t be able to smell what he can or be able to feel the bond that he feels. Jungkook’s breath hitches.

“ **Hit him**.”

“I said no.” Taehyung turns to face the four rival werewolves, all of which take a step back after seeing how angry the usually timid boy is.

“Red.” Shinwoo gasps, shaking Eunji off of his arm to square up to the wolf. “So you’re an Alpha, huh?” He asks, hoping that Taehyung isn’t going to challenge him. The red-haired wolf blinks his eyes and tilts his head before turning to Jungkook and the other five humans. They all look extremely confused.

“Alpha?” He mumbles, his eyes narrowing out of confusion. The burning red dissipates into a spectacular gold before returning to its usual neutral brown.

“What? You didn’t know yet?! Goodness, Tae, no wonder you smelled funny.” Eunji places a hand on her chest, looking like an offended drama queen. “Why don’t we stop fighting and go get a drink? So we can catch up. Plus, Jinseong, when are you going to understand that Tae’s just not into you?” She puts bluntly, regaining her hold around Shinwoo’s arms regardless of whether he wanted to be clung to or not.

“I approve of this idea. You just need to grow up, Jinseong.” Hyunjae chimes in, approaching his older friend and placing a hand on his shoulder. Much to Jinseong’s- and most of their- disapproval, they all ended up walking to their original goal: the café.

 

Taehyung sits in between Jungkook, not wanting the younger out of his sight, and Seokjin, who doesn’t want Taehyung out of his sight. Yoongi and Jimin sit together on Jungkook’s left, Jimin still not letting the elder away to smoke. The scent has gotten worse. It's now the only thing Taehyung can smell. It's intoxicating. Yet Jungkook will never quite know what kind of effect he has on the wolf. He wonders if this is what all wolves feel when they've found their One; their counterpart; their mate.

“So, V-”

“Don't call him that.” Jungkook cuts off Shinwoo before he even got to any point. He doesn't exactly know why he's suddenly feeling the mass of protectiveness towards the redhead. Eunji lets out an inhuman squeal and claps her hands together like a child - heavily reminding five of the humans and Taehyung of their overexcited friend by the name of Hoseok.

“They're totally together!” She smacks the alpha to her right on the arm, something she should earn a glare from, but Shinwoo can only gaze at her with admiration. Everyone that could see the two would instantly be able to tell that they were together. The way he looks at her without judgement. Hoseok only nods his head in agreement with the female wolf, a toothy grin displayed on his face. Taehyung still can't forgive them for what they did, despite missing their wolf company. His need to be in a pack urging him to let bygones be bygones. They left the younger wolf in the hands of him. Someone that Taehyung just wants to forget. He shakes his head slightly, ridding himself of those thoughts and memories to focus on Jungkook as he speaks.

“We’re really not though. I'm just a friend.” _Wow. That hurt_. Taehyung can feel his heart constrict and his wolf internally howls in despair at his mate saying such things. But it's not like Jungkook has any idea of what the werewolf is feeling. He lowers his eyes to try and play off the pain, praying to the Goddess that the other wolves ignore him. He really should stop hoping for so much. It's clear that the Moon Goddess can't hear him, or just enjoys watching him suffer. Either way, he's starting to feel a mutual hatred for Her.

“Aw, poor Taehyung. He can't feel it, huh?” Hyunjae says, smiling knowingly. Taehyung only shakes his head, mentally begging them to drop it. He doesn't want his human friends, or Jungkook - no, especially Jungkook for that matter - knowing about them being mates. Jinseong widens his eyes after realising what they're talking about, not ready to believe it. “So, what's his scent like? I need hints for when I smell my own other half.”

“Don't worry, Jae, you'll know. You'll know before you even see them. Right, Shin?” Eunji smirks, nuzzling her nose into her mate’s arm. Shinwoo nods, temporarily unable to tear his eyes away from her smile, and turns to the wolf sitting opposite him.

“So you are?” He asks, not saying the ‘m’ word just in case the human doesn't know yet. Taehyung sighs before quickly nodding his head, terrified about what this will mean. Sure, he understands what it means as a wolf but he doesn't know what it'll mean for them. A human and a werewolf without his eyes. It's not the first time a human and a wolf are mates, and it won't be the last. Jinseong huffed with annoyance, crossing his arms.

“Are what?” Namjoon asks, his eyes shifting between Taehyung and Shinwoo as if to reach into their minds and pluck out the deepest secrets they're hiding. The four older werewolves all raise their eyebrows at Tae, waiting for him to spill the beans.

“Jungkook and I… we’re…” he can't finish the sentence. His voice retracting inside himself to hide deep inside his mind. His wolf whines, wanting Jungkook to know; wanting his mate to know.

“What, Tae?” Jungkook looks to his right, at his werewolf friend, innocently. Taehyung visibly gulps, closing his eyes. He feels like he must prepare for anything the younger will say afterwards. Words that could hurt. Words that would break him and his wolf. Jungkook may not be a werewolf, but he can still reject him. And, even though he isn't as educated about werewolves as he probably should be, Taehyung can sense that rejection would be excruciating. But he has to try.

 

“We’re mates.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah  
> It took sooo long for me to finish this chapter but I did it! Ta-da!  
> Enjoy~~


	5. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohmahlawd!  
> So sorry that it took over a month to get this out and I'm not even happy with it >.<  
> I'll try to get the next chapter out before the end of the month...  
> Either way, I hope you enjoy it!  
> -M

_“We’re mates.”_

The silence is suffocating. No one knows what to say. The werewolves are all smiling at the single reaction of all the humans - to stare at Taehyung like he’s grown horns out of the top of his head.

“Aw! Tae’s not a little pup anymore.” Eunji says, patting Shinwoo’s arm out of excitement. Taehyung refuses to look at Jungkook out of fear. If the youngest rejects him, right here and now, Tae isn’t sure if he’ll be able to stay calm. It’d break him. The other wolves understand, especially Shinwoo - who’d been terrified to even approach Eunji after smelling her scent the first time. Yet, Jungkook has no idea of the power he now has over Taehyung. The human can’t feel the same bond to Taehyung as the wolf feels to him. It angers Taehyung’s wolf, but the inner animal can do nothing except wait for Jungkook’s acceptance or rejection.

“So… Jungkook?” Hyunjae speaks up, clearly not fully grasping the tension in the air (something he’s never been great at doing) as he directly addresses the stunned human. Jungkook, startled, turns his head to meet Hyunjae’s eyes, unable to speak. “You have a choice now.” Shinwoo turns his head to face his pack member. It’s pretty clear, to Taehyung at least, that they’re using their pack link to communicate mentally. He used to be a part of that link, but it was severed a while ago - when they abandoned him and gave him to a lone Alpha trying to make up his own pack from scratch. That Alpha just wanted to use him to drag along other lonely wolves that would be willing to join, with nowhere else to go. Taehyung hated it. Being used for someone else’s - this Alpha’s - gain. His pack link had been re-established with this Alpha and even to this day, a couple of months after he ran away, Taehyung is still sure he gets odd words from the Alpha’s pack link. It just means that the Alpha isn’t letting him go; still clinging onto that link to lead him to Taehyung. The young wolf isn’t worrying about it yet - when the mental comments become more frequent, or louder, that’s when he’ll become alarmed.

“Choice? What choice do I have here?” Jungkook asks, an annoyed tone to his voice. Taehyung lowers his head upon hearing it, his inner wolf cowering in the corner of his mind - afraid of the impending decision to be made.

“You can choose whether to accept Taehyung as your lifelong mate.” Shinwoo informs the human. He can’t help but feel sorry for Taehyung - to have such an unknowing mate must be agonising. Not being able to explain the bond the wolf will feel, and already feels, would be near impossible. Humans can just never fully understand. Fae, and any other supernatural creature, would feel the same, tugging bond as wolves. Vampires… Well, Vampires and Werewolves never mate. They’re born (or made) with an innate hatred for the other kind, unknowing to them or anyone else.

“You have to understand that, if you accept, you cannot have any other partner. Unless Tae dies, of course.” Jinseong adds, making sure to smirk to try and frighten the youngest human at the table. Shinwoo elbows his Theta’s sides, not wanting to take away Taehyung’s chance at a mate. If Taehyung does end up being an Alpha, it would be in their best interests to stay on his good side. Plus, he’s always liked Taehyung - feeling protective over him, like how an older brother feels protective over a younger sibling. Jinseong rolls his eyes, awaiting Jungkook’s answer along with the other wolves.

“I… Can I think about it.” Jungkook takes a moment to glance at Taehyung. How can he not be afraid of giving his life to a wolf he barely knows anything about - yet he probably knows more than anyone else at this point. Taehyung begins to hyperventilate. He is panicking. His wolf is panicking. If he has to wait another minute, it feels like his wolf will rip his entire being in two. The other wolves’ eyes widen, watching as Taehyung’s eyes change between gold, red and blue. All of the colours fighting. Or dancing in bright movements. The fiery red that symbolises dominance refuses to dance with the calm blue that represents submissiveness. Those two colours seem to fight, clashing into each other in sparks of fluorescence. The gold remains neutral, freely changing partners without prejudice. Taehyung stares ahead, unmoving. He feels like, if he moves, he’ll shatter. Shinwoo notices this and stands up quickly, Eunji automatically following. Hyunjae and Jinseong copy, not sure of what their Alpha has in mind but they feel like they have an idea - if Taehyung’s sudden scent change is anything to go by. This scent can only ever be smelled during one day of each month. A full moon. But why would Taehyung be emitting this scent, when the full moon was yesterday? Shinwoo isn’t prepared to find out while they’re inside a café. He moves around the table and forces Tae to stand by grabbing his shoulders, the younger seems to be in a daze.

“While you figure it out, we’ll take him to somewhere he can vent. Away from humans.” Shinwoo tells them, he can’t help but feel a hint of anger towards Jungkook. He knows that he probably shouldn’t, it’s not like Jungkook can get into Taehyung’s head and feel what he feels. The wolves leave the humans at the table, wanting to get Tae as far away from everyone else as possible.

 

“Well… I’m gonna have a smoke.” Yoongi says a couple of minutes after the wolves leave. He stands and leaves the café swiftly, not caring, but isn’t upset, that Jimin follows closely behind. Once outside, he pulls out his red and white packet of cigarettes and taps one loose, sticking one end in between his lips. With the other hand, he frees his lighter from his left pocket and simultaneously lights it with his thumb. Jimin watches as the older boy puffs on the white stick of tobacco, carelessly blowing the smoke into Jimin’s face with a smirk.

“Hey!” Jimin whines, flapping his hand in front of his face to rid himself of the heavy smoke as a quiet cough escapes him. “You really should just _try_ to stop smoking.” He suggests, crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow. Suga only laughs slightly, shaking his head.

“Why quit when you can continue?” He puffs again, shrugging his shoulders. Jimin sighs and reaches out to pull the cigarette from Yoongi’s lips. He takes the cigarette and crushes the burning part under his foot before discarding it into a bin. “Why’d you do that?” Yoongi asks, already reaching into his pocket to release another cigarette. Jimin grabs his hand before it could reach into his pocket, refusing to let go. “Wha- What are you doing?” Yoongi questions, his eyes wide at the younger’s actions. Suga is not one for physical contact, so to have Jimin casually holding his hand - and with a smile no doubt - is a little beyond being too close for comfort. But he kind of likes it. _What? No._

“If you won’t stop reaching for that pocket, then I’ll just take away your ability to use your hand.” Jimin chuckles, sticking out his tongue in a mischievous, childlike manner to which Yoongi can’t help but smile at. _He’s too cute._ Again, his own thoughts confuse him. He has lived this far through his life believing he is as straight as a ruler. Now, he’s having second thoughts. Suga has no doubt that he’s attracted to girls, but now he’s suspecting that he’s also attracted to guys too. Well, so far Jimin is the only one he’s felt this way for. _Why’s this so confusing?_ He sighs and responds to Jimin’s small hands in his by entwining them together, surprising the younger but earns no complaints from him.

“You know what?” Yoongi says, sitting down on a bench that belongs to the café, sparing a thought to what the others are talking about but goes back to the orange-head sitting beside him. Jimin raises his eyebrows, letting him know that he can continue. “I’ve been thinking about getting a new tattoo.” Jimin gasps, his free hand clenching as it moves around excitedly.

“What are you thinking of getting? Where are you gonna get it? Are you sure it won’t hurt? Are you gonna get the same person to tattoo you? What if-”

“Jimin.” Yoongi calmly interrupts the younger, a gummy smile taking place on his face. The orange head breathes and chuckles.

“Sorry. I’m just excited!” He shakes from side-to-side, his shoulder repeatedly bumping off Yoongi’s but the older doesn’t get irritated by it, it in fact widens his smile. “So… Have any idea of what you’re gonna get?” Yoongi rubs the back of his neck with his left, free, hand and laughs dryly, wondering how to tell him.

“I… I kinda want you to design one for me… If that’s ok?” Jimin is speechless. Yoongi, someone he’s become quite fond of during their time of knowing each other, is asking _him_ to design something that will be on his body for the rest of his life. Jimin has never been confident in any of his skills. The others know that he can sing and dance, yet he denies that he can. Only Suga knows that he can rap, yet Jimin denies that too. One day, during a mundane lesson in college, Jimin was mindlessly drawing something that suspiciously looked like the mint head sitting beside him. That same boy noticed this and complimented him - that’s when Jimin realised just how much he liked the older.

“But I can’t-”

“Shut up, Chim.” The nickname takes Jimin off guard, halting any words that he was about to say. “I know you can draw. I’ve seen it.” Yoongi tightens his grip on Jimin’s hand, encouraging him silently. “I want you to draw me something. It can be anything. And I’ll even let you choose where I get it.” Jimin’s eyes widen at this particular point because Yoongi must know that he’ll just want to place it beside the other tattoo he has. It’s in a place that Jimin appreciates and no one can see it, unless Yoongi wants them to see it. “So… Will you do this for me?”.

“Course I will, hyung. But,” Yoongi looks at him expectantly, not really prepared for any conditions the younger may have but he’ll adhere to them if it’s what it takes. “I’ll have to see your other one first… To make sure I know how much room I’m working with.”

“Oh really? You sure that’s the only reason?” Yoongi’s tone changes, becoming more suggestive than it used to be. Jimin’s cheeks flush as incoherent sounds mumble their way out of his mouth, not being able to think of an appropriate excuse. “You want to take pictures too? So you don’t have to design while staring at me.” Jimin’s eyes light up.

“Yes! Pictures will be fine. Thank you Yoongi hyung.” He lowers his head, the rosy blush dusting his cheeks refusing to die down.

“No. Thank _you_ ChimChim.” Yoongi frees his hand of Jimin’s, earning a little frown in response but that disappears as soon as it appeared as he places his right arm around the younger’s shoulders. Not close enough to be a hug, but close enough to not just be nothing. This is the moment when Yoongi realises just how much Jimin means to him. An image comes into his mind and it intrigues him. An image of Jimin standing in front of him with his own tattoos. Twirling around his arms; drawn along his ribs; twisting around his neck; kissing his knuckles; wrapping around his stomach; littering his entire body. The image draws in a thought, or a couple thoughts. One: Jimin is insanely attractive, no matter what he says about himself. Two: Jimin with tattoos would only serve to make him look even more attractive. “Hey… Have you ever thought of getting your own?” Jimin’s eyebrows furrow as the thought enters his own mind.

“Not really… Have _you_ ever thought of me getting a tattoo?” He questions, his eyes finding Yoongi’s with an amused look hiding behind them.

“Sure.” He says, obviously leaving out the fact that the very thought came to him a mere few moments ago. “I think you should. It’d look good.” Yoongi’s arm goes unmoving, curling further around the younger’s shoulders which Jimin slightly shrugs. He hums disapprovingly, sure that tattoos and himself won’t mix.

“I don’t know…”

“Why not?”

“I mean… What’d I even get?” Jimin decides not to bring up his insecurities here - not wanting to ruin the atmosphere surrounding them. Although, Yoongi is well aware of the fears Jimin has about his body even though he looks way better than many other people he’s seen. “Unless you wanna draw me one too?” Yoongi freezes, and Jimin does too once he realises just how much he likes his own idea.

“Oh. No, no-”

“Yes!”

“I really don’t thi-”

“I think it’s a great idea.” Jimin turns in his space on the bench, towards Yoongi, with a smug smile playing on his lips. “I’ll draw you one and you can draw me one.” He suggests. Yoongi sighs and shakes his head, yet a smirk can’t help but find its way onto his face.

“You’re not gonna change your mind on this, are you?” Jimin playfully shakes his head and chuckles, awaiting the elder's decision. “Only if I get to choose where it goes.” This time Jimin nods his head enthusiastically. “Ok then. I already have an idea.”

“You do?! Wow… I’ll need to get thinking.” They laugh together, deciding to spend the next few minutes talking - wondering how the others are doing.


	6. Let Me Fall

It's been an hour since the group of Werewolves exited the cafe, practically pulling Taehyung along with them. The place they ended up is where they usually go during the full moon, to chain themselves up for the painful night. Taehyung hadn’t spoken a word the entire way, his eyes glazed over and glowing a neon blue, which is why Shinwoo is keeping his arm around the younger protectively. A few humans and other creatures notice here and there but none of them outwardly question it. Hyunjae flicks on the warehouse lights, illuminating every one of the rooms within it. The building is funded by the new government - one that focuses on unity rather than paying for degrading Facilities. It’s open to any Werewolves that aren’t yet in control of their shifts, which the group of four have a sneaking suspicion might be an issue for Taehyung. The place is deserted with it not being a full moon, allowing them to guide the youngest into the first room they come across. The walls are a grey concrete that’s clearly been scratched to hell by a peculiarly large creature. There are chains hanging off the walls, some links weakened, and the room is lit by one lone yellow bulb that’s swinging from the ceiling. Jinseong pulls Hyunjae to one side as the Alpha and his mate take Taehyung into the room and tell them to wait outside. The younger wolf raises his eyebrows, waiting for Jinseong to say something, as he’s eager to help Shinwoo but respects the Alpha’s orders.

“What would happen if that human rejects him?” Jinseong asks, trying hard to disguise a smirk under the fake concern. Hyunjae sighs and shakes his head, seeing right through his motives.

“You know what’d happen. Are you really  _ that _ head over heels for him?” Hyunjae allows a dry chuckle, his mind going back to the youngest in the room beside them and instantly starts to feel bad for him. Everything that kid must’ve gone through and now he has to deal with the troubles of having a mate. Hyunjae never wants to meet his mate, he much rather prefers not being supernaturally chained to someone else and unable to appreciate the looks of anyone else. Even though it seems to be going well for Shinwoo and Eunji, he just doesn’t want to face anything like that. Especially if his mate is human. It would be frustrating.

“I mean… Sure.” Hyunjae laughs even more, “Shut up. You can’t tell me you’ve never liked him.” Jinseong accuses, narrowing his eyes to the younger.

“Not really. He’s cute of course, but I still have types. Like, I usually prefer stronger guys and overly feminine girls for some reason. Honestly, I just know when someone’s outta my league. You should learn too.” Hyunjae shrugs casually with a shit-eating grin, although he does feel a brotherly protectiveness over Taehyung and if this Jungkook guy ends up hurting him, then he won’t hesitate to hurt him back. Jinseong blinks. Once. Twice.

“Wait… You like both? How’ve I never known this?” He asks, ignoring the last comment and feels slightly disappointed that he’s only now finding this out.

“I like all. I just don’t give a shit about what people’s genders are. Girl, guy, both, neither and anything in between. I’m a lover, darling.” He winks with a chuckle, clicking his knuckles as he waits for Shinwoo to say something, anything.

Eunji crouches down beside Taehyung, who’s now on his knees on the stone floor, and looks up to Shinwoo, wanting to know what to do. She can see that he looks stressed and annoyed, but he doesn’t say a thing.

“Hey, Tae? Talk to me pup.” She says quietly, trying to be sensitive. His eyes have returned to their chocolate brown colour which is a great sign but she feels like he’s still not alright.

“Not a pup.” Taehyung mumbles, furrowing his brows as a pout appears. The mates chuckle and Shinwoo lowers himself and places a hand on the younger’s shoulder. “Sorry… I’m a mess.”

“You have nothing to apologise for, Taehyung. Everything will be OK, we’ll never leave you alone again.” Shinwoo assures him, seriously regretting the decision he made nearly a year ago.

“Aw, I thought I got rid of you for good. Oh well.” He chuckles lightly, laughing along with the couple.

“You can never escape from us now.” Eunji jokes with him, just happy to see him feeling a little better. The twenty-five year old Alpha turns to his mate and runs a hand through her short, green-tipped brown hair as he mentally tells her to leave them alone. She obeys with a nod, exiting to see what the younger two wolves are doing. “So, Tae. Are you feeling alright?” He asks, overrun with genuine concern when Taehyung’s eyes lifelessly stare into his. He hums in thought, lowering his eyes again.

“Don’t know. I don’t feel much of anything right now. My wolf has gone quiet.” Taehyung answers, only now looking around the room they’re in. “Why are we here?”

“Oh… You seemed a little unstable, so we thought it best to bring you here.” The Alpha tells him honestly, not wanting to lie to the younger anymore. Rather than bringing up the group of humans, he decides to help Taehyung up and leave the room with him. Eunji, Hyunjae and Jinseong all turn towards them with smiles.

“You good TaeTae?” Hyunjae asks with a kind smile, sneakily side-eyeing Jinseong to make sure he doesn’t try anything. Taehyung nods in response, although his eyes betray him. “I'm in the mood for ice cream. Let's go.” It's more of a statement than a suggestion, but Shinwoo doesn't mind and just nods his head in agreement.

“It's been awhile since I've had ice cream, how ‘bout you Tae?” Eunji asks with a gentle smile, her voice no longer its higher pitch that he heard before.

“Uhh… I've heard about it but I haven't had any.” The four stare at him with wide mouths and eyes, unbelieving of the words. “What?” He asks, confused as to why they're looking at him like that.

“You're telling me you've  _ never _ had ice cream before?” Jinseong sighs, his one-sided crush can wait for now since they have a mission to complete.

“No… The Facility didn't have anything like that and, after I got out, you guys never offered and-” he seems to cut himself off before he says something through his rambling, a flash of raw emotion crossing his eyes. The group of four have a clear idea of what he was about to say but they pass over it, not wanting another panic to occur.

“We know what to do.” Was all Shinwoo said before walking out of the warehouse with the four wolves in tow, one of them unaware of the experience he was about to have.

 

“Aaah!” Taehyung scrunches up his face and drops the spoon, placing both his hands on the side of his temple and wriggles in his seat. The other four chuckle at the display, happily eating away at their own portions. “Why does it hurt?” He asks, now sitting still as he pouts at the bowl of vanilla deliciousness in front of him, begging to be eaten.

“It's called ‘brain freeze’. That's what it does to you when you eat it too fast.” Hyunjae explains calmly yet the smile never disappears. The youngest looks up at the four that are all eating without the pain of this silent attacker.

“So it won't do it again?”

“It's not alive Tae!” Eunji laughs, needing to put her spoon down so she doesn't throw ice cream everywhere.

“Hey, you don't know that.” A voice unknown to them sounds from the space beside Taehyung, and they all look up. A woman with pale skin and red hair stands over them, her full lips pulled into a toothy grin in which they all notice something.

“What do you want?” Jinseong questions defensively, not liking to see her standing so close to Taehyung. Her face turns into a slight frown but her uplifting tone never ceases.

“I came to ask if there's anything else I can get for you.” She says, pointing to the silver name tag pinned to her chest which tells them that she's an employee here and that her name is Ollie. “And to add some enlightenment on ice cream.” She chuckles, jokingly winking at Taehyung which the others don't appreciate but he just chuckles as well, which helps them subconsciously relax.

“I didn't know a blood sucker worked here.” Eunji says, distaste evident in her voice.

“Oh, we prefer to be called ‘soul eaters’ or maybe even just ‘demons’. Short and sweet, like you.” Ollie smiles to Eunji and tilts her head to the side. The other female can't help but chuckle at the comment, even though she knows that Shinwoo will feel a little jealous.

“Ok, I like you Ollie.” She tells the Vampire, unable to fake the hate any longer.

“Can I get a coffee?” Taehyung asks quietly, a shy smile on his face as he places another spoonful of the ice cream into his mouth, already forgetting about what he was told about the dangers of it. His eyes instantly close and he forcefully swallows it, the numbing cold spreading down his throat as he exhales loudly. “I swear this thing is trying to kill me!” He claims, refusing to pick up the spoon again despite how good the dessert tastes.

“Tae…” Shinwoo smiles as he shakes his head.

“That's its trick… It attacks when you least expect it.” Ollie says with playful seriousness, marking the order down on her small notepad as she checks with the others. No one else wants anything so she swiftly leaves them alone.

“Goddamn Vamps…” Jinseong mutters under his breath, catching the attention of Taehyung who only frowns. The other three roll their eyes at his ridiculous dislike for the fellow non-humans. Eunji could easily fake disgust for other creatures but she could never actually hate them. It'd be just wrong to do so.

“What's up?” The youngest asks, “She's nice.” Jinseong quickly looks at Taehyung and seems uncertain about whether he should disagree with him.

“They're savages.” He says, his eyes fixed on Taehyung in hopes of him just agreeing without question.

“She's not. And who's to say we're not?”

“But  _ they  _ are.”

“You can't judge every member of a species just because a couple treat you badly… and you can't say an entire species is perfect when one of them had to do some mean things.” Taehyung closes his eyes as he realises that his voice began to raise slightly. With a tired sigh, he rolls up his sleeves and his mind goes back to the humans for a second before returning to the four in front of him. Jinseong is at a loss for words, scared to start a fight. Shinwoo looks between the two before clearing his throat, easily gaining their attention and telling them to stop.

The waitress returns with the cup of coffee and carefully places it in front of the red haired wolf. It wouldn't be great if she spilled coffee on a fourth customer this week. Before she could say her usual words of ‘please enjoy’, Ollie notices the unusual mark on the inside of Taehyung’s right wrist as his hand wraps around the black mug.

“V?” She mumbles, curious as to what it means, and the addressed wolf visibly tenses as his fists turn white around the mug. “What does that mean?” Shinwoo decides to step in before a scene takes place.

“Nothing… please just leave it alone.” He just barely begins to beg of the Vampire yet his eyes never move from the youngest. Noticing the thick and suffocating atmosphere, Ollie says her goodbyes and leaves them be, the question hanging in the stale air. Taehyung silently drinks his coffee and passes the half-full bowl to Eunji since she finished hers so quickly. She thanks him with a satisfying hum and shares it with her mate. Jinseong can't help but look at the etched scar on his tanned skin. He knows he's not the only wolf sitting at this table thinking about what if that was any of them. He would be broken if anyone from his small pack had to go through that but Shinwoo surely would feel the worst. None of them really know what the younger had to go through there, and none of them have ever dared to ask. Luckily they avoided the tyrannical methods of the corrupted government by hiding. Other creatures were safe. They only experimented on Werewolves, which confused the hell out of everyone living there but no one could stop them. Over the many many years, every species has had their share of abuse and torture but that was only during wars. When the world was divided and in ruins. There was no war here. Just a militant group of humans with too much budget and a curious nature into seeing whether Werewolves could be used for their gain. At this moment, Jinseong realises what Taehyung was actually telling him about judging an entire species off only a few of them. It was about the humans that did unthinkable things to Taehyung and other Werewolves alike. God, does he feel shitty.

“Sorry Tae.” Is all he had to say for the younger to snap his head up and smile, even though it doesn't reach his eyes.

“Don't worry about it. I need to stop sulking so much.” He tells them, quickly finishing off his coffee as he wonders what they're going to do next. Hyunjae takes control as he stands up and claps his hands once.

“To the park!” He says enthusiastically, earning a groan from the group.

“What is it with you and parks?” Taehyung asks with a slight giggle.

“Swings are the best invention known to man.” He claims with a serious glare in his eyes.

“I thought you said that slides were the best invention.” Eunji counters with an evil grin as she sets off Hyunjae’s brain into turmoil as he tries to think of an excuse.

“You know what… Let's just go.” He gives up, taking Taehyung by the hand as he rushes out of the building.

“Great… Sugar-fuelled Hyunjae makes his grand appearance.” Shinwoo laughs as he, Eunji and Jinseong follow the two closely since it wouldn't be great if they lost them both. Taehyung, who's just generally bad with directions, and Hyunjae, who's so hyper right now that he doesn't realise that he's going the complete wrong way.

 

Jungkook orders his third lot of bubble tea, tapping lightly on the wooden bench beneath his hands. After Jimin and Yoongi took so long outside, the others all decided to get up and sit with them. Namjoon keeps asking the youngest what he wants to do, but he has no idea. How could he even know where to begin? To completely give yourself to one person for the rest of your lives is kind of a big deal. Especially since Jungkook isn’t the most experienced in the dating world. Or any type of romance, really. It’s true that he’s developed a little crush on the Werewolf (starting even before they first talked) and getting to know Taehyung has only made him even more fond of him. But it’s not love. Love’s not as simple as that. For Jungkook, love is to unconditionally feel something towards someone and want nothing more than to be with them, despite any consequences that might come of it. He knows that he’s not prepared for anything like that. Not yet, anyway. He believes that you have to know someone for some time before taking the next steps, and it’s those next steps that terrify him. He doesn’t even think that Taehyung likes him that way either. Sure, the wolf can like Jungkook but, to him, Taehyung must like him too. Otherwise, it’ll be a relationship built on only one thing: the supernatural bond that Jungkook can’t even feel. What type of love is that? A love with restrictions. A love with confusion. A love with someone he knows hardly anything about. And to him, that’s not a true love. Sure, he’s naive and young, but... he can’t help but wonder how much pain Taehyung will be in if he doesn’t accept him. Jungkook’s been told that it’s not the most pleasant thing to experience, and after everything Taehyung has already been through, he can’t even begin to think about hurting him even more. This is the only reason he’s still considering to accept the bond.

“-kook. Jungkook!” Seokjin says loudly as Hoseok waves a hand in front of the younger. “We need to do something.” The older tells them, crossing his arms as he wonders what they could do. Jimin has been scribbling on a few napkins ever since they’ve been sitting down while Yoongi just sits back and watches him with a smirk.

“What you doing, Chim?” Jungkook asks, finishing off his drink as he leans over the bench to try and see, although Jimin covers it with his hand protectively.

“Uhh…” He seems unsure whether to answer or not, looking over to Yoongi like he’s asking for permission. “I’m designing a tattoo for Yoongi.” The excitement in his voice is extremely obvious and causes everyone to chuckle. “AND I get to choose where it goes.” He begins to sway slightly in his seat, unable to contain his eagerness. Hoseok claps his hands and squeals.

“YoonMin…” He whispers to Jungkook, who can only laugh in return. Yoongi gives him a deathly glare before rolling his eyes. “What was the catch?” Jimin grins widely.

“He has to design my first tattoo and decide where it goes.” Jimin informs them proudly, making Yoongi rub the back of his neck in uneasiness.

“But he’s not a great artist.” Namjoon says with a toothy smile, and none of them can wait to see what they both come up with. “Hey, guys.” He addresses them all and their eyes turns to him in anticipation. “Let’s go somewhere.” The suggestion is approved by most of them, except for Yoongi. “Come on, Suga… We’ll let you choose.” To this, Yoongi looks at them all and sighs, turning his eyes to the sky as he tries to think of something.

“Sure. Follow me.” He orders them, standing up and practically drags Jimin along with him.

“Hey! Let me put these in my pockets first!” Jimin complains, stuffing the loose napkins into his pockets - until he realises that he’s still wearing Suga’s jacket and a blush tints his cheeks. Yoongi walks ahead of them with Jimin by his side, chatting about pointless things to avoid silence. The others all follow behind, taking bets on where they’re going.

 

“Ah-ha! You owe me some ramyeon!” Hoseok tells the others as they approach their destination.

“Dammit! Hey, Yoongi, why’re we here?” Namjoon asks as he watches Hoseok take off towards the direction of the swings. “I thought you hated parks.”

“Nah… It’s just peaceful, you know? Only when there’s no little demons running around.” He says, his body shuddering at the thought of dirty, loud children surrounding him. His eyes fall on the youngest before turning his head in the direction of where Hoseok ran off to. “So, go play kid.” He jokes with Jungkook, following them all as they take off towards the swings, staying further back with Jimin, forcing the younger to slow down by placing an arm around his shoulder. Jimin doesn’t feel like complaining. As they get closer, they notice that everyone ahead of them have stopped moving.

“What’s up, gu-” Jimin begins to ask, but when he sees the occupants on the swings he can’t finish the question. Taehyung instantly stops his movement from his seat on the swing, staring up at the group of six. Shinwoo and Hyunjae step from their place behind the young wolf to be in front of him, hoping that Tae’s alright with this strange situation.

“I think it’d be wise for you to leave.” The Alpha warns with a deep voice, glancing to the Beta by his side. Eunji stays sitting in the swing beside Taehyung, and Jinseong stays in his spot on the brown bark floor.

“I agree. Let's go guys.” Namjoon says quietly, trying to urge the others to leave but they weren't having any of it. “Guys-”

“Hey Tae.” Hoseok greets, a positive lilt in his voice that Taehyung greatly appreciates - easily ignoring what Namjoon said. “It's been sad having no one laugh to my jokes.” Hyunjae smiles and takes a step to his left, so he's not completely blocking their view. Taehyung just can't hold back the slight smile either, although his eyes refuse to move from Hoseok. “Who would've known that Yoongi’s secret love for parks would lead us here?” He chuckles, turning his head to look at the mint haired man behind him, who's started smoking at some point and blowing plumes of the grey smoke in Jimin’s direction ‘accidentally’.

“Dude, wanna turn on the swing?” Hyunjae jokingly asks, clearly more at ease than he was before. Suga glares at him before taking another puff and blinks in surprise when the cigarette is forcefully removed from his mouth and crushed by the heel of Jimin’s shoe.

“Stop… You've just gave me a new idea.” He quickly takes out a napkin and pen to scribble some words that would be incoherent to anyone else.

“Be kind.” Yoongi says, shaking his head at the younger’s actions as he plays with the lighter in his hand. Jimin mutters a ‘never’ quietly before returning the napkin and turning his attention to Taehyung.

“We don't want any trouble… the quite opposite, in fact.” Seokjin tells them, placing a hand on Namjoon’s arm to say that they're not leaving until the situation is dealt with. For the first time since the two groups came face to face, Taehyung risks a glance at Jungkook who, in turn, is just staring right back at him. That one look is all it takes for his wolf to awaken and leap around in joy - meaning that he has to work harder to keep his body still. The less hope he gives the wolf, the easier it'll be when the younger rejects him.

“Just say it now.” Taehyung says, ignoring the piercing gazes from the other wolves and humans. Jinseong sits up straighter, unbelieving of what Taehyung is agreeing to. 

“Tae, it'll be-”

“I know.” He cuts off Shinwoo, his wolf cowering slightly at the minor disrespect he's just shown the Alpha. “The sooner you say it, the sooner I'll recover. Before my wolf starts thinking we have hope.” He lowers his eyes, just waiting for those words to roll off Jungkook’s tongue and the inevitable pain that comes with them. Jungkook is at a loss for words, however. Does he accept and only be able to love this boy for the rest of their lives, even though the ‘love’ isn't there. Or reject, and put Taehyung through even more pain. As if the redhead could hear his thoughts, he begins to speak again, “I've been through worse, so don't try to save me from the pain. Just let me take this fall.”.

“I…” Jungkook’s voice is raspy, due to the nervous dryness in his throat. Now everybody is looking at him expectantly, serious expressions painting each of them (apart from the smiling Jinseong, who he decides to ignore). All except for the one he's addressing. “I'm so sorry, Taehyung… I hope you can forgive me.” With this, Taehyung looks up with the largest boxy grin they've ever seen.

“Course I will, Kookie.” He nods his head and keeps on smiling, just waiting. A few moments pass until the youngest begins talking again.

“I-”

**_Well ain't this interesting._ **

“Must-”

**_Hello again, V._ **

The words drop off into nothingness, unheard. His ears are ringing and his mind is buzzing. All the red flags blaring, telling him to run. His wolf has shut down again yet he can't tell if it's because of one voice or the other. They don't sound too different. Both are gentle and calm. Yet one is slightly louder. And loud is the one thing that voice shouldn't be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.... It's a little late >.<  
> I kept putting it off and then realised I had no idea where this is going - who needs plans...  
> Anyway! I hope you enjoy it and let me know if anything's confusing ^.^  
> ~M
> 
> (생일 축하합니다 <3)


	7. Venenifer

“Taehyung!” The group of ten shout after him, shocked and unable to move. Everyone is confused. And they’re unsure if it's because of the rejection, because Jungkook had barely been able to even say the word before the young wolf took off into a sprint, away from the park. Away from them. The confusion diminishes, however, for the other Werewolves when a howl can be heard. It's not loud but close enough for the pack link that Taehyung abandoned yet is still a part of to reopen. Shinwoo turns away to talk to his pack, wanting to get them out of here if that person is back and closer than ever.

“We need to lay low for a bit.” He tells them as the Alpha instinct to protect his pack kicks in, taking Eunji’s hand as he prepares to leave.

“Hey! What was that?” Jimin asks loudly, concerned for his new friend. The wolves look at the group of humans and back to each other, seemingly wondering whether to waste time explaining business that has nothing to do with them.

“Let's just go.” Yoongi says, pulling on Jimin’s arm as he practically begs them to leave it alone. They all turn to him and he sighs. “Howl means wolf. Wolf means pack. I'd rather not meet any more wolves if they got Taehyung scared like that.” He tells them, hoping they'd just drop it and leave.

“I agree with Satan on this one. But only after we find him.” Hyunjae says quietly, hating the idea of leaving Tae again. That howl terrifies him- no, all of them. Because they know who it belongs to. Yoongi scowls at the nickname before smirking, weirdly liking how much it fits. “They aren't good news… but Tae might be-” he’s cut off by Eunji hitting his shoulder, and quickly glances to the humans.

“Is Taehyung in trouble with that wolf?” Namjoon asks, his eyes gazing in the direction the younger ran off. Shinwoo nods.

“When we knew Taehyung, after the Facility shut down, he was part of our pack. Then a rival Alpha challenged me.” He lowers his eyes, embarrassed to admit his mistakes and defeats. “He said that if I won, he'd leave this place alone. But, if he won, then he'd leave this place with a member of my pack.” Shinwoo looks at the three wolves he considers his pack and sighs.

“So you left Taehyung with him?!” Jungkook shouts, shaking his head at how much the redhead has gone through in his short life. Shinwoo frowns, not needing this kid to tell him what he did wrong.

“I'm sorry, OK? There was nothing else I could do. If I didn't agree with his conditions then he'd force all of my pack to join him... And I didn't get to _choose_ who he took. It would’ve been impossible for me to do so anyway.” He says, shocking his pack since he never told them that part. “He met my pack and picked out Taehyung before we even fought. I could do nothing! I feel like shit but there was no way I could've won. He wasn't any ordinary Alpha.” The other Werewolves all flinch as another howl rips through the air, giving them one clear message.

“Shit.”

“What should we do?”

“I don't know!”

“We should leave.”

“We can't leave him.”

“Not again.” They all go silent as Hyunjae says those two words, saddening them greatly. Yes, he would love nothing more than to leave this place and never have to think of that Alpha ever again. But he would never be able to live knowing that Taehyung is still with him.

“Wait… is Taehyung with that Alpha right now?” Seokjin asks fearfully, holding onto Namjoon’s hand for any comfort he could get. A single nod is all he needs to become instantly frustrated; wanting to save Taehyung from anything that Alpha will do. “Take us to them.” He boldly orders, ignoring the looks of disbelief in the wolves.

“Jin, I don't think we shou-”

“We're going to get him.” It's Jungkook that interrupts Yoongi this time. They're now all on a mission. “An Alpha can't command us like you guys.”

“No, but he can command Taehyung and the rest of his pack. I'd rather not be responsible for more humans getting hurt by his hands.” Shinwoo says, his eyes holding a sorrowful memory within them.

“ _More_ humans?” Jimin queries, hoping he heard wrong. Eunji places a hand on her mate’s arm as she steps forward to speak, knowing that Shinwoo already feels terrible and shouldn't have to live through it again.

“Yes… Minsoo enjoys hurting others. He's a complete sadist and sociopath. He's hurt humans before, killing some even. Any humans that come across him, he makes sure to shut them up, in any way he can think of. And any wolves, he either forces them to join his pack or kills them too.” She tells them, not even realising that she let the name slip before she notices her pack staring at her.

“Minsoo?” Jimin questions, a squeal-like noise coming from him as Yoongi’s hand on his shoulder tightens. “Suga?” He says, scared slightly by the elder's actions.

“If you insist on going then… I'll go too.” He tells them reluctantly, removing his hand and lowering his head with closed eyes.

“It's decided then. Take us to them.” Hoseok says, pointing a finger in a random direction. He's way too laid back for the situation they're getting themselves into, but the wolves say nothing.

 

“Hey lil’ pup! I've been looking for you for a long time.” Taehyung stands frozen, annoyed at himself for being so easily commanded. A few feet in front of him stands Minsoo, the silver haired Blood Alpha that tries so desperately to ruin Taehyung’s life. “Cat got your tongue, V?” His voice is raised slightly out of excitement, serving only to terrify the young wolf even more. “ **Speak**.”

“What do you want?” Taehyung bites his lower lip, not wanting to talk to this man but unable to disobey him. Minsoo chuckles, clapping his hands in celebration.

“Your voice hasn’t changed. I was getting withdrawal symptoms from not being able to hear it. Why would you do that to me, pup?” He smirks, taking a step closer while the younger can't take a step back, even though he wants to. “ **Speak** , **honestly now.** ”

“I had to get away.” He's on the verge of tears. Memories of spending time in this pack returning stronger than ever. But it's not because they're bad, or even traumatic.

“ **Tell me why**.” Minsoo is enjoying this and Taehyung knows it. He fights the instruction for a second before breaking, his bottom lip red from blood.

“Because… I know that if I stayed with you then-” he tries to stop himself, his palms clammy and hair sticking to his forehead from the cold sweat he's broken into. “Then… I'd end up liking it too much. I'd become just like you.” He says the brutal truth for the first time out loud, already feeling the weight lift from his shoulders. The Alpha laughs, shifting from foot to foot out of pure excitement.

“Why would that be so bad? We could rule together, V. We'd be unstoppable.” He no longer uses his Alpha voice and just speaks in that gentle, misleading tone that drew Taehyung in the first time they met. He notices that the mate bond for Jungkook is no longer burning, the thread seemingly cut. He can’t even remember hearing those words come from the younger, only recalling the words that commanded him to come here. His wolf doesn't even seem that upset, it's more happy to be reunited with it's Alpha. It's leader. It's family.

“But… I've started to like it here.” He says honestly, trying to think of any reason to keep his wolf at bay. He's sure that it's going to start mourning the severed bond once it calms down a little.

“But I recall your wolf feeling incredibly upset earlier. What was happening?” Minsoo asks, his voice laced with concern that Taehyung has to see as fake, just so he doesn't start trusting him again.

“I found my mate. He's human and we agreed that he'd reject me.” Taehyung says honestly, not really knowing why he's telling Minsoo this even though he hasn't been forced to. The Alpha frowns and tilts his head.

“A human rejected you? But you look like _that_.” He answers breathily. “Oh well. Their loss. My gain.” He chuckles darkly, taking yet another step closer. “I'm guessing that you didn't tell them about your past.” The statement causes Taehyung to lower his head, knowing exactly what he's talking about.

“Not everything.”

“You couldn’t have trusted them that much, then. You've had a unique life, V. I like that about you.” Tae’s wolf leaps from the compliment by the Alpha, a great honour to receive as a member of this pack. “Do they not know of your name ‘V’?” He asks, reaching out to grab Tae’s wrist and look at the sharp marks he loves to see.

“They know but… I gave them the wrong reason as to why.” Taehyung says, feeling upset that he had to lie to people that he finally felt like he could be himself around. Well, not his entire self. Minsoo releases his wrist and shakes his head.

“It's a shame. It means a lot to who you are. Unless you've forgotten already.” He raises an eyebrow accusingly. “What was some of the words they said again?” Minsoo asks rhetorically as he begins slowly circling the younger, hands harmlessly locked behind his back. “Venator. Vastatio. Vagabond. Some of them were pretty creative, I have to admit. They could never just agree on one. Some I liked a little less… like ‘Vice’.” He almost spits the word disgustingly and stops in front of Taehyung. “And some I really liked. Validus. Venenifer. I, personally, preferred those two.”

“You didn't like the most blunt word they used?” Taehyung asks, raising his eyes to meet the similarly dark ones belonging to the older wolf.

“What fun would that be?” Minsoo chuckles, tilting his head as he observed Taehyung’s hair. “Why red?” He wonders out loud. The younger reaches up to self-consciously flatten down his naturally wavy hair.

“Wanted a change… you don't like it?” Taehyung’s ashamed to admit that he feels slightly upset at the thought that his Alpha might dislike something about him. Although he knows that it's his wolf being dramatic, Taehyung can't help but let its emotions seep into his own. Minsoo only laughs.

“It suits you.” He answers with a grin, turning his head to ominously look at an odd space over Taehyung’s left shoulder. “Wow. They actually decided to show up.” He sounds annoyed but the smile stays where it is. One sniff of the cold air around them tells Taehyung all he needs to know. The multiple different scents approaching them but, also, the noticeable lack of a particular smell. And it's that emptiness that finally gets his wolf to lie down and whine in pain. _Fight it._ He tells himself, refusing to show weakness here, even though he feels like it won't back down for long. Minsoo easily notices, and feels, the younger’s pain and smirks at it, thinking about the fun he could have.

 

It was Shinwoo that decided to lead the large group, seeing Minsoo for the first time in a long time as they round a large group of trees. He stops a good few meters away from the couple and waits for all the movement to stop from behind him. He can hear the increased, angered heartbeats of the humans and the similarly frightened emotions of his pack. Shinwoo, himself, is deeply terrified. One defeat against this Alpha was enough; he doesn't think he could cope with another. Especially if it meant losing another one of his family. The red wolf has his back turned to the group, reluctant to look at them.

“Well, hello then!” Minsoo addresses then enthusiastically with a clap of his hands. “So, which one of you rejected young V here?” He asks them harshly, causing them to tense and glance to each other nervously. They're already getting the idea that Minsoo wastes no time tiptoeing around a topic, and crosses any lines carelessly. “I don't like being ignored.” He warns with a low tone, placing a semi-threatening hand on Taehyung’s shoulder, who still hasn't moved since they arrived. As none of them seem inclined to respond anytime soon, Minsoo shrugs his shoulders sluggishly and turns his head to the young wolf beside him. “ **Point out your ex-mate**.” The four Werewolves witnessing this all take a step back out of shock, hearing the command voice of a Blood Alpha for the first time in their lives. With a shaky breath, Taehyung turns on his heel to face the people he considers friends with closed eyes, and raises an extremely still hand to point out Jungkook - who's giving Minsoo a deathly glare. “Well then,” he takes a moment to look the raven haired boy up and down before speaking again, “Interesting. He's going through a lot of pain right now because of you. It might not look like it, but he is. I can feel it because that's what an Alpha does: care for every member of his pack.” His eyes make their way to the other Alpha present, winking as he makes the sly comment. “We've already established that you don't want him and he likes it here, with me.”

“Tae would never-”

“‘Tae’? Ha! Are they giving you cute nicknames now, V?” Minsoo interrupts a blonde man, unfamiliar to him, and takes a step towards the group of humans and wolves.

“Don't call him that.” This voice is louder yet still shaky and frightened, amusing the Alpha greatly as he sees that it came from the same black-haired boy.

“Wait… did you tell them that you _don't_ like being called it?” He thinly smiles, side-eyeing the younger. “Oh, I'm guessing because if _they_ say it then it'll remind you of _me_.” Minsoo accuses with a toothy grin. Taehyung lowers his head to avoid answering. “It's really a shame that they don't know why you're called that. I think they'd respect it more if they knew.”

“Don't tell them.” Taehyung speaks up for the first time since the others arrived, eyes now open and fixed on his Alpha, no one else. The hard stare he gives the older, only seems to amuse Minsoo.

“Wouldn't dream of it, my little pup.” Despite his gentle voice, the others can tell that his intentions are malicious. His eyes reach the sky for a moment before sighing and bringing them back down to meet his pack member. “Well, I can’t seem to delay the inevitable any longer. Come on out.” As the Alpha says these words, a group of four appear from behind him, leaving their cover (which they used a group of trees and bushes for). As they all come into line of sight, they manage to glimpse a shining purple before it disappears just as the overwhelming Werewolf scent appears. The wolves, especially Jinseong, tense. Another Theta here can’t be any good.

 

The shortest of the four, and seemingly the youngest, sprints up to Taehyung and clings onto his waist. The redhead stands for a moment, in shock, before he kneels down to hug the smaller wolf properly. The humans can’t help but notice the clear tears running down his face as his eyes squeeze shut. The other three wolves also approach, but make sure to let the younger two have their touching moment. As they pull away, the short girl begins to move her hands together with a bright smile. Once she’s finished, Taehyung responds with his own hand signs as he giggles with the girl. As he stands up - and wipes the tears from his face - he turns to the other three and nods his head acknowledgingly.

“Soomi seems glad to see you, she hasn’t had anyone to sign with. I guess we’re all happy, really.” The tallest one admits, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. The shorter, blue-haired girl to his right smacks his arm and shakes her head.

“Course we’re happy to see you, Ven. You did practically save our-” She’s cut off by Taehyung quickly lowering his head and closing his eyes. Not out of his shyness, but out of fear. Minsoo clears his throat and claps his hands together loudly, successfully gaining everyone’s crucial attention.

“Introductions are needed, I believe. Meet my pack.” He takes a moment to gesture to the four that entered, bringing their attention to the other wolves and humans there. “At least some of them…” He mumbles with a smirk. “The talkative two here are Kyunghwa and Kyunggi - the Beta twins.” Minsoo points to the lilac haired, tall man first before pointing to the midnight blue haired, short female beside him. They nod their heads in unison, taking note of the strangers in front of them. “Blue eyes over here,” He motions to the other female in the group, whose eyes are glowing an unnaturally bright blue colour, “is Riley - an Omega, if you couldn’t deduce that one. And this little one,” He proceeds to tap the girl’s head, “is Soomi.” She looks up to her Alpha and then over to Taehyung, making more signs with her small hands for him to answer back to, which he does instantly. She covers her mouth as a quiet gasp escapes her, confusing them all. That is until they see his eyes.

“Uh oh…”

“This isn’t good.”

“You’ve not been taking care of yourself, V.” The members of Minsoo’s pack start to look at their leader for a sense of what to do. Taehyung’s human friends and old pack all look at each other, mouths agape. “Young Venenifer…” Minsoo begins, taking enough steps forward to be a mere foot away from the self-conscious wolf. “Who you are runs in your veins. Never try to change who you are for your blood can never change.” He says ominously, placing both of his hands on the younger’s shoulders to look dead in Taehyung’s eyes that he finds so captivating. One red like a burning, crisp flame. One blue like cool, serene water. The two contrasting in perfect harmony.

 

“Luckily, I guessed that you’d do this and prepared something - you never were great at taking care of yourself.” Minsoo gestures for Riley to hand over her shoulder bag, which she does immediately. “So, don’t your old pack even know?” He asks loudly enough for them all to hear, taking out a grey flask and forcing it into Taehyung’s hands, who seems reluctant on opening it. Shinwoo and the other wolves look to each other, wondering what they’re talking about. V shakes his head, finally choosing to open the flask and start drinking its contents. It only takes him a few gulps to finish it off with a satisfied sigh, handing the container back to his Alpha. “Feel better?”

“Yes… Thank you.” Taehyung answers, his eyes returning brown after being properly fed, and gives his leader a small, thankful, smile. He cautiously looks up, only to meet the eyes of a confused Jungkook - the blush the glance caused was unintentional and didn’t go unnoticed by Minsoo.

“What don’t I know?” Shinwoo can’t help but ask. Someone, another Alpha, claiming that he didn’t know something about an ex-pack member is extremely offensive - since an Alpha should know everything about what their pack is going through, no matter how insignificant it may be. Minsoo laughs obnoxiously, wrapping an arm around Taehyung’s shoulders.

“Want me to tell them, V? Or will you do the honor?” Minsoo considers Taehyung, strangely in a respectful way which shocks the opposing wolf pack once again. He’s talking to him like they’re equal, like Taehyung has a choice. The redwolf looks down and closes his eyes, as if waiting for something before he can speak. “Oh right… **Be yourself, V.** ”

“Thought you’d never ask.” Taehyung looks up and smiles, not his usual boxy grin but, instead, a disconcerting smirk that sends chills down their spines. “It’s been hard acting like something I’m not.” His voice is so clear, all his previous nerves easily dispersed. Minsoo pats his head and chuckles, pleased to have his old pack member back to being himself. “You’re probably confused.” He addresses the other Werewolves and humans, his smile disappearing to reveal the most expressionless and unreadable face they’ve ever encountered. “Alpha made it so my actual self was hidden when I wasn’t around him. So, when I ran away, my old self was lost for a little while. Until Alpha reactivated him. Before I met Minsoo, I could only hide some of myself but now it’s not really a problem. So… Hello! I’m V. It’s short for a lot of things.” He turns to the rest of his pack and nods his head. “It really is nice to see you all again. Especially you, Soomi.” While speaking, he does the appropriate signs to go alongside his words - happy to see that the youngest one starts smiling.

“There are so many meanings of his name, ‘V’, because the scientists that helped create him could never agree on just one. Although, there was one meaning that got right to the point.” Minsoo tells them, removing his arm and turning his body to stand facing Shinwoo completely.

 

“Vampire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuuugh... I hate this chapter so much >.<  
> Sorry if it seems to be going a little slow - I'm trying to do something new: Planning O_O  
> And it's a bit harder than I thought.  
> Again, if anything's confusing just let me know!  
> ~M


	8. Falling Is The Only Way

_“Hyung~ Come on! Give it back!”_

_“Not happening, Chimminie.” Yoongi laughs at his dongsaeng’s antics, holding the ice cream cone above his head. He's not much taller than Jimin, if he's even taller at all. Well… the chair he's standing on helps a_ little _._

_“Please!” Yoongi was just about to give in anyway and the pout that the younger gives, is more than enough to push him over the edge. The older steps down from the chair and hands over the cone with a gummy smile. “Thank you!” Jimin exclaims as he begins eating the vanilla ice cream. Yoongi sits in the seat properly this time and pulls it into the brown piano opposite it. A deep inhale later and his fingers glide over the contrasting black and white keys, creating a symphony that's both musically impressive and pleasing on the ears. Jimin, with cone in hand, takes a seat beside Yoongi on the stool. A few moments later, once his Hyung finishes his improvised piece, he lets out a high-pitched squeal._

_“You're so good! You need to play more. Why don't you play more for the others? Do you want some ice cream? I should go get some-” Yoongi takes both of Jimin’s wrists into his pale hands, stopping him from leaving the chair and allowing him to take a much needed breath._

_“You talk too much, Chim. You don't have to feel like you need to talk all the time.” He states, tilting his head to one side. “We both know you like silence just as much as I do.” Yoongi chuckles, using the younger’s stunned silence to take a bite out of his ice cream._

_“H-hey!” Jimin whines, holding the cone closer to himself in order to protect what's his. “And… thanks. The others talk a lot, so I thought I should talk more too. Even Kookie has started talking more.” He gives a small smile and brings his shoulders up into a shrug. “Quiet is nice though.” Another moment passes before Suga starts playing the piano again, closing his eyes to immerse himself into the sounds. Jimin rests his head onto the elder’s shoulder after finishing off his dessert, letting the soft music lull him into a peaceful sleep. Yoongi has to tense his shoulders and focus that much more on the piano in front of him, rather than the warmth emanating from the younger._

_***_

_Jimin left a few minutes ago to get them some coffee, mainly to wake them both up. Yoongi was playing for about half an hour before also falling asleep beside Jimin, resting his head on the piano and with Jimin resting his head on Yoongi. For now, as he waits for the younger’s return, Yoongi decides to play the piano some more. It brings him so much joy to play the respected instrument, and to have people enjoy listening to it. At least, it used to. He's had his fair share of hate from it but he genuinely couldn't care less. As long as Jimin likes it, he couldn't give a fuck about what anyone else thinks. With that intrusive thought, he slams his hands onto the keys. The sound is less than appealing, the mixture of high and low notes not going well together at all. It's been a week. A week since he was told. He stayed away for a few days, trying to figure shit out. He's trying to keep it together. For Jimin. He just doesn't know how much longer he can keep it up for. With a heavy huff, he shrugs off his jacket and pulls the black shirt over his head, with it suddenly feeling extremely humid in the small music room. He didn't realise how much he was sweating until now but he keeps on playing, attempting to release himself of stress. His Uncle was everything to him. His father figure. His brother. His teacher. His friend. Not only was he gone, but murdered. By one of-_

_“Hyung! Coffee, black as our souls, just how you like.” Jimin’s light voice enters the room before a small gasp escapes him. “S-sorry… I should leave.”_

_“Jimin, don't worry.” Yoongi tells him, figuring that the younger’s probably a little shocked at seeing him shirtless like this. “I still need that coffee.” He takes the cardboard cup away from him with a smile and begins drinking it. Not the best he's had but it's enough to wake him up for now._

_“Are you ok?” The orange haired dongsaeng asks him, retaking his seat beside the older boy, leaving more than enough distance between them for it not to be uncomfortable. “You don't like taking off your shirts, not even when we go to the pool.” He says, taking a sip of his own drink. Flavoured iced coffee with hazelnut syrup and a drop (or multiple drops, in Jimin’s case) of milk. Yoongi knows exactly what Jimin would've ordered, almost five years of knowing someone does that._

_“It was too warm in here.” Yoongi claims, drinking more of the coffee. He does realise that the hot coffee probably isn't helping but he drinks it nevertheless. He glances over to Jimin and smirks as he notices the light blush painting his cheeks and ears. “Does this make you uncomfortable, Chiminnie?” He asks sincerely, hoping the younger doesn't feel to weirded out by it. If he was, then Yoongi wouldn't hesitate to put the shirt back on, no matter how warm it was._

_“No! No… It’s fine. Wait- Is that a tattoo?”_ Shit _. Yoongi may have forgotten about that. He got it a couple of days after that phone call. He no longer bandages it with cling film like he was told to, seeing it as pointless. If it was going to heal, it would've done so the same day as getting it. Jimin moves his head closer, examining it. If it was placed anywhere else, Yoongi would've been fine, but because it’s placed across his ribs, the closeness of Jimin’s face causes an unnatural pink to dust his neck and cheeks._

_“Can you tell what it is?” He decides to ask, not wanting the younger to look up and see him flustered - which he very much is. Jimin hums in thought, visibly stopping himself from reaching out to touch it._

_“A flower...? Oh! It’s placed on piano keys.” He describes what he sees, the smile evident even in his voice. It's truly beautiful. “Why’d you get it?” The question elicits an emotion that Yoongi isn't ready to welcome yet, at least not in front of Jimin._

_“Just wanted to,” A necessary lie to avoid the topic. He remembers how much it hurt, as his first tattoo but, without a doubt, not his last. “D’you like it?” The question seems pointless since Jimin just looks up with the widest smile he's seen in awhile. “Don't tell anyone else… I'd rather not have that earful off Seokjin.”_

_“Of course, hyung. You can trust me. But it’s seriously awesome!”_

 

“-gi! Hyung!” Jimin’s voice brings him back, his body aching from the fall he can't remember taking. After they found out what Taehyung is, Minsoo ordered the rest of his pack to make themselves known. It felt like something hit his head but he never saw what it was or if anything hit him at all. Jimin quickly helps him up, making sure he was alright to move. His head aches, but it doesn’t feel like it’s bleeding. Even if he wasn't fine, they'd need to get away from there. The rest of Minsoo’s pack are staying away for now, just watching them. Taehyung is a Vampire? No, a Werewolf-Vampire crossbreed? What exactly were those scientists experimenting with? Something clearly beyond their control if _this_ is what Taehyung is like. “We need to leave! Shinwoo! Come on!” Yoongi can only focus on how distressed the younger’s voice sounds; it should never have to sound like that.

“You should leave… or not.” Minsoo’s laugh haunts them, they stay where they're stood and wonder what they could do to get out of it. They can't help but notice Taehyung’s anger, but it's not aimed towards them. It's targeted at Minsoo, his Alpha.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He shouts, looking around at the rest of his pack. At least twenty members, all growling and blindly following their crazed Alpha. Taehyung picks up Soomi and holds her close to him, comforting her above all else. “You're scaring her!”

“Come on, V… I thought you wanted to have some _fun_ . Now put down the runt and play some more.” Minsoo holds out his arms and points his nose towards the group of humans, knowing exactly who he's going for first. Taehyung frowns at the use of that word… ‘Runt’. _How dare he speak of his pack like that?_ He pushes down the hate for now.

“Not like this.” Taehyung says calmly, putting Soomi down carefully and making a few hand signs to calm her down. “Take care of her and get out of here.” He tells Riley, whose eyes are shining brighter than ever. She hesitates but only for a moment, grasping the child’s hand and running away from the scene. Taehyung only trusts her to care for the young wolf for now because she’s an Omega. And an Omega can literally never go on with the knowledge that a pup is in danger. Minsoo groans but doesn’t tell her otherwise. “I like you, Alpha. We can have all the fun in the world together but not by scaring your own pack. That's not the way to rule. And these humans are _nothing_. Not nearly enough fun for us.” Minsoo growls at the younger wolf and shakes his head.

“Dear V… You talk like you have a choice in the matter.”

“We should have a choice though. I've went through way too much of my life without choice. And I think _you_ forget that I'm not just wolf here.” Taehyung warns, casting hard glances to the rest of the pack so he can watch their reactions to his disobedience. Kyunggi looks to her brother before taking a step forward.

“I agree with V, Alpha.” She says quietly, not used to going against him but the red-wolf’s words strike up a confidence within her and she feels like now’s the time to start. Taehyung looks to the blue-haired Beta with a thankful smile. Kyunghwa moves to be by his sister’s side and stands strong with her and Taehyung.

“Let's just leave here and have fun somewhere better than this.” Taehyung asks of Minsoo, raising his hands together to show that he would never go against him unless he was serious about it.

“Oh… Do you like these humans? Perhaps your mate never fully rejected you?” Minsoo accuses, his eyes set on the raven boy. Taehyung looks between them and laughs.

“Seriously? He's no longer my mate. I think I'd know if-” He cuts himself off, one overwhelming scent returning from somewhere. _Shit._ That simple lavender and dew that doesn’t belong here anymore. He fights through it, not even sparing the group of humans a glance. “None of your pack wants to stay here. Ask them.” He quickly returns with, not wanting to draw attention to his slight disorientation with his inner wolf freaking out. _Shit shit shit. What do I do? Don't let Alpha know._ Taehyung looks to the pack and then at the group of humans- well, one human in particular. Did he not reject him? This isn't a broken mate bond… this is a bond that's very much intact.

 

“Jungkook. You can do something.” Yoongi says quietly, hoping that the Blood Alpha is too busy with Taehyung to notice them. The youngest looks at him with narrow eyes, unsure of what his hyung’s talking about. “There's only one other person a wolf must obey other than their Alpha. Their mate.” He tells them, confusing the humans greatly. Shinwoo and his pack move closer to them, wondering what’s happening.

“Oh. I get it now! It took me so long to figure it out. You-”

“Let's keep on topic.” Yoongi interrupts Hyunjae, casting him a deathly glare before returning to look at Jungkook.

“But I rejected him. We're not mates.” The youngest says in his confusion, keeping his voice low. “And I wouldn’t force Taehyung to do something he doesn’t want to, anyway.” He glances to Minsoo’s pack and notices how on edge they all are, eyes shining brightly in a sea of yellow with the odd blue near the back.

“You didn't fully reject him. It doesn't take a genius to work out that he's still affected by you.” Jungkook looks shook, they all do. They didn't notice this, they can't notice it. “You just have to command him, as a mate. But you'll have to accept him first.”

“No way. Kook shouldn't have to accept this wolf-thing. He's not even a full Werewolf, is he?” Seokjin interjects, heavily against Jungkook giving his life to someone like V. Taehyung was the innocent wolf they met. V is who he is now, the Hybrid that stands beside Minsoo.

“I don't think what we're seeing now is actually Taehyung… At least, I hope it isn't.” Shinwoo tells them, not able to forget the Taehyung that belonged to his pack. Quiet yet extremely talkative when talked to. Innocent and pure.

“That doesn't sound very promising…” Namjoon cuts in, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“We should have more faith in him.” Hoseok says, a calm smile planted on his face. “It could just be Minsoo’s commands making him be like this.” Eunji nods her head in a silent agreement with him.

“Or this could actually be who he is.” Namjoon argues. He wants to believe that Taehyung is still like his old self, somewhere in there, but his current actions make that thought less than plausible.

“We can't give up on him.” Hyunjae tells them, his voice laced with seriousness. “Not after everything he's been through. He's been left behind too many times before.” He places a hand on Shinwoo’s shoulder, hoping his Alpha will agree. Without his permission, they'll have to leave anyway - so it's all Shinwoo’s choice.

“I agree.” Eunji states with a half-smile, looking to Jinseong. “Jin?” Seokjin snaps his head to them before sighing in relief upon realising that he's not the one they're talking to. The Theta slowly begins to shake his head, clearly frightened by the opposing pack that's so much bigger than they'll ever be. Especially since he knows there's a Theta somewhere over there too.

“Wow… And here I thought you had a _huge_ crush on him?” Hyunjae teases, a chuckle playing on his lips. Jinseong scoffs, trying to play it off.

“This isn't the time… I'm going to kill you.” Needless to say, he whispers the last part despite them all being able to hear. Jungkook crosses his arms subconsciously, clearing his throat to get them back on topic.

“Jealous much?” Hoseok mumbles, not even trying to hide his smile as he shares a laugh with Hyunjae and Eunji.

“How are you guys so calm?” Namjoon sighs exasperatedly, rubbing the creases out of his forehead. “Never mind… so what are we going to do?” The question is directed to the entire group yet not one of them can even begin to answer it.

 

A noise catches their attention, all of their eyes moving to the huge pack of wolves. They see Minsoo and Taehyung facing off, the former looking extremely smug and the latter looking utterly furious. The rest of Minsoo’s pack have decided to just watch them, probably in case the younger ends up challenging the Blood Alpha. After a moment of intense staring, the older wolf begins walking away from Taehyung. The rest of the pack follows suit and follows their Alpha. Only Kyunghwa and Kyunggi stay with Taehyung, choosing to not follow their Alpha this time. Once they're completely out of sight, Taehyung instantly snaps his head towards the other group.

“I managed to get him away for a bit.” He sounds tired, or annoyed. After noticing their confusion, he places both his hands up and tilts his head, only able to hope that they understand. “I- I'm sorry. He would’ve hurt the others if I didn’t let him bring this part of me out.” He says ‘others’ but his mind only goes to Soomi. Ever since they first met, they got along amazingly. No one else in their pack knew sign language (which he tried to change by teaching them) so she couldn't properly communicate with any of them. She's too young to have the pack bond placed far into her mind. And using pen and paper doesn't really translate their emotions properly, but sign is incredible. Taehyung only picked it up at the Facility. After twelve years, he got pretty good at it and Soomi genuinely appreciates being able to talk with him. _Why aren't they talking?_ “You probably see me as a monster, well, one of you already did, so it isn't that much of a stretch. I'm still Taehyung.”

“Are you?” Jimin asks timidly, taking a step closer only to have Yoongi take a step with him. “You look like him but… you act completely different. Taehyung is an adorable Werewolf who gets picked on at school but has the purest heart. You're nothing like that right now.”

“I never had a pure heart. It was impure the moment that place took me in and turned me into… _this._ ” He holds out his hands in front of him to examine them, hating how he's probably lost the only people he's connected to in a long time. “I was never the ‘adorable’ victimised Werewolf. Just someone trying not to snap. It’s agonising, you know. Being the only wolf at that school. But also being Vampire and having that smell around me constantly. Imagine starving yourself for weeks and then being placed in a room full of all the food you could ever imagine. And then that food teases and hurts you.” He looks up to meet their eyes, praying that they'll understand anything he's telling them. That they won't keep seeing him as a beast, even though it's the only thing he's calling himself recently. “And I _hate_ it. Growing up, I was taught that human meant food. Now I know that that was wrong and a twisted frame of mind to belong in.”

“So, all that just now… It was an act? For Minsoo?” Jungkook asks, his hands balled into fists and stare sharper than any knife Taehyung has been under. The redhead gives a shrug of his shoulders. That scent again. It's a curse at this point, knowing that the younger can never feel the bond or whether the bond is broken or not. _Does he even realise?_

“Partly… This is me, but I would never hurt you. Or anyone.” He turns to look at the Beta twins, nodding his head at them in thanks for staying with him. “You didn't reject me, huh?” He says quietly, more of a comment than a question. The youngest shrugs slightly and shakes his head, confirming the wolf’s blatant suspicions. “Well, shit.” He sighs, wondering what the hell to do with this revelation. “There's still time for you to reject me. I seriously wouldn't blame you at this point. Since I'm not all Werewolf anyway.”

“But it'd probably still hurt. A lot.” Hyunjae chimes in, bringing a finger to push imaginary glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I've consulted facts.” He jokes, adding a slight lisp to his voice without realizing it. Everyone looks at the Beta questioningly, except for Taehyung who just laughs.

“You're probably right. But,” Taehyung shrugs nonchalantly, like such a crippling severed bond wouldn't faze him when it clearly would, “what can you do when your mate’s human? Not exactly safe for anyone, considering what I am.” The humans all look to each other, clearly not having put together the fact that if Jungkook and Taehyung stayed mates then at least one of them would end up getting hurt. Relationships between humans and Vampires aren't rare (fairly uncommon, sure, but they still happen), but when people do hear about it, they usually freak out and fear for the human’s life. Not all Vampires are uncontrollable, some are actually _very_ in control. Taehyung wouldn't exactly say that about himself just yet. Hell, he's still trying to get the whole ‘shifting’ thing down before anything else.

“What did you say? To Minsoo, I mean. To get him to leave.” Shinwoo asks, still keeping his senses on high alert in case the Blood Alpha isn't done with them yet. He occasionally glances at Kyunghwa and Kyunggi, not sure whether he can trust them yet.

“Just told him that I wanted to play with you guys on my own before the rest joined in.” After saying it, he immediately realized how calmly it came out and how strange it must've sounded. “Sorry! Uhh… It's what he calls it; it's surprisingly easy to pick up  his way of saying things. I guess it's better than saying the correct terms…” He let's out a nervous chuckle and rubs the back of his neck.

“I don't like this Minsoo guy.” Seokjin speaks up, crossing his arms at how disrespectful the man could be. “We’re going to try and stop him, right?” Most of them smile at the suggestion, with a few frowns here and there (note: Jinseong, Yoongi and Namjoon).

“I don't think that's a good idea. Most likely scenario is that some of _us_ will get hurt too.” Namjoon informs them, taking Jin’s hand in his in a hope to appeal to his rational side.

“He'll end up hurting people anyway. Whether it's us or others.” No luck on the rationality unfortunately. Namjoon sighs, knowing that when Seokjin puts his mind to something- nothing will get in his way. Unless it's claws… or teeth… or-

“You know what… We really don't have to.” He's downright begging at this point. The thought of Jin being hurt for something they shouldn’t even be a part of scaring him.

“Namjoon’s right.” They turn to face Yoongi, “Humans shouldn't be getting mixed up in this. But, sadly, they are. We can't let that continue.” He directs his words at the Werewolf pack and then glances over to Jimin, who's staring at him. “What?”

“N-nothing. But, Tae, will you be ok going against your own Alpha? And you guys?” He saves his shocked state by throwing out a question to Taehyung and the Betas, glad that it made sense and wasn't just a jumble of gibberish. The redhead looks to the twins, eager for their answer.

“We’ll be alright. We never agreed with Minsoo’s ways but we never had another Alpha to turn to.” Kyunggi says, flicking her short hair out of her face before looking up to her brother. He scoffs and shakes his head.

“We won’t let him keep hurting people. Now we have people to stand with, I know that we can beat him.” Kyunghwa tells them, flashing a wolfish smile at them before crossing his arms. “Will you be ok, Ven?” He asks, concern lacing his tone and Taehyung has to admit that he’s a little flattered by it.

“I'll be fine.” He states boldly, “I mean, there's someone here that holds just as much power over me as he does.” His gaze travels to Jungkook, a tiny smirk dancing across his face. “Only if you choose to use it, of course. I’ll never force you.” Hyunjae let's out an impressed whistle and places his hands behind his head, just looking between the youngest two.

“I, for one, strongly approve of this visually pleasing couple.” He says, smiling at the two of them. “Even if one is a blood-sucker and the other is made of blood.”

“ _Part_ blood-sucker. I can live off human food, for a little while at least.” Taehyung quickly corrects. “ _Born_ Werewolf. _Made_ Vampire. Please don’t forget that.” He says, not even able to begin to explain why those scientists decided to do this to him and how they did it. All he remembers was the endless injections and blackouts, all of which he doesn’t feel like telling them about. “You seem to be taking it really well… It doesn’t freak you guys out too much, right?” Taehyung decides to ask self-consciously, wanting to make it one-hundred percent clear that he’s not going to hurt them.

“Freaks me out just as much as knowing that you don’t like strawberry ice cream.” Hyunjae jokes, patting the younger on the back to reassure him. “You weirdo.” They laugh together before Hyunjae narrows his eyes. “Hey, Tae? What the hell does ‘Venenifer’ mean?” He asks, more seriously this time, and Taehyung gasps.

“Right! I never told you about those names… It’s only because I hated them, please understand. It means ‘poisonous’. Don’t ask me why they called me it, I have no fucking idea. Venator means ‘hunter’. This is why they call me ‘Ven’ for short.” He gestures to Kyunghwa and Kyunggi.

“Well,” Kyunghwa exchanges a look with his shorter sibling, “Ven also means ‘friend’ in Danish. We didn’t just shorten what the others call you.” Taehyung widens his eye at that fact, having no idea before now.

“You guys… Sorry, I had no clue.” He tells them honestly, lowering his head in shame at never knowing the reason why they called him it. They both shake their heads with friendly smiles, telling him that he doesn’t need to apologise. “Vastatio means… devastation, I think? Very fitting name, am I right?” He continues with a chuckle, still not able to believe that those scientists all had their own name for him. They could’ve just as easily used his actual name yet they chose not to. “Validus was something like mighty or powerful. And they used ‘Vice’ as in defect. They were really nice people.” Taehyung exaggerates sarcastically. Hyunjae nods his head along with everyone else, all glad that they finally know the story behind the ‘V’ mark on his wrist that the younger’s currently rubbing his fingers across subconsciously. Hyunjae already knows that Shinwoo is going to help, via their pack link and Eunji’s triumphant expression. However, Jinseong looks undecided and he finally speaks up to voice his concern.

“They have a Theta.” He comments breathlessly, he’s never met another one despite them not being rare at all. He figures that it’s just because they’re better at hiding themselves than the other ranks. Taehyung begins laughing, a completely genuine sound rather than being forced, startling the brown haired Theta.

“You don’t have to worry about them.” He wipes a tear from his eye before elaborating, “Little Soomi is the only Theta they have and she doesn’t like being ordered around, trust me.” Taehyung smiles fondly and Jinseong can't help but be shocked. That child has already presented as a Theta? Jinseong presented three years ago, which seems longer than it actually was. He was eighteen and had already joined Shinwoo’s pack, and he has to admit that he was extremely annoying back then and has to praise Shinwoo for putting up with him for so long. He, to this day, has no idea what triggered him to present but he was, and still is, extremely proud to be Theta. So, how is it even possible that the child was able to present so early on in life. He thinks that the Moon Goddess must’ve taken a liking the little girl. “She’s deaf, if you couldn’t figure that one out. Has been since birth.” He thinks back to first learning of her inability to hear and wanting nothing more than to help the pack and her communicate. “I only trusted Riley with the job of getting her away from here because an Omega won’t accept any command that involves hurting a pup. Even if it’s from their Alpha.” He informs the humans in case they didn’t know, hoping both the Theta and Omega are alright and safe. Hyunjae nods his head, actually excited to interact with the little one. Except, there’s one thing they must do before that.

“So, Homo sapiens, you gonna help us take down an evil and completely dangerous Blood Alpha? We understand if you won't.” He tries his best to deter them from tagging along as best he can. As Werewolves, they’re technically only marginally stronger than humans during a full moon but he knows that, as a Blood Alpha, Minsoo has untapped strength that Hyunjae, for one, would hate to see be used against these people. The addressed humans take a moment to quietly contemplate their options before one, soft voice is heard.

“I’m in.” Jimin says clearly, nodding his head to get across the surety of his decision. The other humans all nod in agreement, Namjoon hesitating before accepting it despite their complete lack of a plan. To him, it's illogical to needlessly put themselves in danger, yet here they are- doing just that. Hyunjae sighs and shakes his head, obviously not impressed that his deterrent skills didn’t work. Suga widens his eyes and rests a hand on the younger’s shoulder, mentally begging him to change his mind.

“You’re sure?” Yoongi asks carefully. He would preferably not have the orange haired boy anywhere near the conflict. Yet, he has a suspicion that there’s nothing he can do about it. The instant hum and nod he receives in response, tells Yoongi all he needs to know: that he’s never going to be able to change Jimin’s mind on this. “Fine.” He gives in rather quickly, “How are we gonna do this?” Taehyung looks up in thought for a moment, considering what they could do and which option would mean the others won’t get hurt by it. Only one seems like the safest for everyone, and the fact that he thought of it scares him just a little. Anything to protect the humans, the wolves and his pack.

“I have an idea. You might not approve, though. But it might work. ” He tells them, a light smile displayed to try and get them to agree with him. “I can challenge him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy the new chapter!  
> (Please tell me if the italics at the beginning are disorientating - I could tune it out while writing but I know that it hurts some people's eyes. It seemed like the easiest way to show that it's a flashback thingy)  
> ~M~


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